Last updated: 10/25/24.

The case threatening mifepristone and abortion access for more than 64.5 million people nationwide is moving through courts again. The baseless suit seeks to severely rollback  access to a safe and effective medication that has been used for decades.

On October 11, 2024, three Republican attorneys general from Kansas, Missouri, and Idaho filed an amended complaint in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA.

The lawsuit seeks to restrict mifepristone use by prohibiting:

• use after seven weeks of pregnancy (currently allowed up to 10 weeks)
• access for those under 18
• prescriptions via telemedicine, requiring three in-person visits instead
• prescriptions by nurse practitioners and non-doctor health providers
• dispensing by retail pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens
• generic versions of the medication

This comes after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to protect access to mifepristone in its June ruling, leaving it vulnerable to further attacks. The justices dismissed the case on standing, meaning that the plaintiffs didn’t have the legal right to sue because they could not show they had been harmed by the availability of mifepristone.

The conservative attorneys general along with previous plaintiffs—a group of anti-abortion extremists—filed the revised lawsuit in the same federal district court in Texas as the original case, presided over by District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk. Kacsmaryk is a Trump-appointed judge who just last year sided with anti-abortion extremists in their arguments to force the FDA to rescind approval and reinstate unnecessary restrictions on mifepristone.

Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA Court Case

This case was brought by anti-abortion extremists against the FDA and heard by the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year. Contrary to scientific evidence, it seeks to severely restrict access to mifepristone nationwide which would limit abortion care in every single state, including where the right to abortion is protected.

The Case

Anti-abortion groups filed a federal lawsuit in a Texas district court challenging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in its decades-old approval of mifepristone, one of the two medications typically used to provide medication abortion care.

The Supreme Court did the bare minimum by not ruling to restrict mifepristone last June. While their decision was a relief, this baseless case should have never gotten this far, and the fight is far from over.

Why does this case matter?  

Medication abortion is the most commonly used method of abortion. Restricting mifepristone nationwide would have severe consequences on people’s ability to access critical abortion and miscarriage care. Abortion access in our country is already in crisis after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. If access to mifepristone is restricted, more than 64.5 million people will face increased barriers to abortion care, impacting their ability to make their own decisions about their lives, bodies, and futures.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is mifepristone?

Mifepristone is one of two pills typically used in medication abortion care.

For over 20 years, medication abortion has been a safe and effective FDA-approved option for ending an early pregnancy. It’s also used for miscarriage management.

How did this case even get in front of the Supreme Court? 

Anti-abortion groups filed this lawsuit specifically in a Texas district court with the hope that it would be heard by Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk—a Trump-appointed judge whose nomination we opposed and who has issued many anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ, and anti-contraception opinions. Two of the key studies he cited in his ruling to severely restrict mifepristone have since been retracted because of unreliable findings.

I live in a state where abortion is legal. Will this affect me?

Yes. The ruling in this case could result in significant restrictions being placed on the prescription and dispensation of mifepristone for medication abortion and miscarriage treatment, no matter where you live.

We have compiled a list of trusted partners if you need resources for accessing abortion care.

What’s the difference between medication abortion and birth control pills or emergency contraception? 

Birth control and emergency contraception (such as Plan B) prevent pregnancy, while medication abortion ends an early pregnancy.

Medication abortion (also known as abortion pills): Medication that is taken to end a pregnancy. The two medications typically used in the United States are mifepristone and misoprostol.

Birth control: There are many different birth control methods to prevent pregnancy. The most common include condoms, birth control pills, and IUDs.

Emergency contraception (also known as Plan B and the morning-after pill): The morning-after pill is an effective emergency form of birth control that is used to prevent pregnancy after sex.

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Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA Legal Timeline

On June 13, 2024 the U.S. Supreme Court sidestepped the question of whether to further restrict mifepristone. While this is a relief, this baseless case should have never made it this far, and the fight is far from over. Read More.

On March 26, 2024 the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in this case. Read More.

On December 13, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear this case. They will decide in 2024 if significant and unnecessary restrictions will be put in place on mifepristone, a safe and effective medication. Read More.

On April 21, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court granted the Department of Justice’s request for a stay in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA, blocking lower courts’ dangerous rulings that would have severely restricted access to mifepristone. Mifepristone will remain available for now. This fight however, is far from over. Read More.

On April 14, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an administrative stay until Wednesday, April 19 at midnight on two lower court efforts meant to restrict access to medication abortion with mifepristone nationwide. Read More.

On April 13, 2023, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a partial stay in the federal case that could effectively ban mifepristone in all 50 states. While the court blocked large parts of Judge Kacsmaryk’s ruling meant to remove FDA approval of mifepristone, it also reinstated outdated and medically unnecessary restrictions on the safe and effective medication that were previously lifted by the FDA while litigation continues. The case is now likely to be appealed and eventually head to the U.S. Supreme Court. Read More.

Research

Behind the anti-abortion movement’s latest attempt to rig the game and attack reproductive freedom is the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (AHM)—a coalition of right-wing organizations cooked up to push for a national backdoor ban on medication abortion.

As Reproductive Freedom for All’s report explains, AHM isn’t a legitimate organization—they didn’t even exist until late 2021 and had no web presence until 2023.

The anti-abortion movement strategically designed and deployed AHM to carry out its baseless campaign to block access to mifepristone nationwide. Read More.