In a long-awaited decision in the United States, handed down on Friday April 21, the American Supreme Court chose to maintain access for the moment to the abortion pill mifepristone, used for more than half of abortions in the country, suspending restrictions decided by lower courts.

The high court was due to rule on the fate of the abortion pill in the country on Wednesday, but postponed its decision for two days, temporarily extending full access to the stamp.

By its decision, it notably blocked on Friday the judgment of a federal magistrate in Texas, known for his Christian faith, his ultra-conservative positions and appointed by Donald Trump, who had withdrawn the marketing authorization on April 7. of mifepristone, after being seized by anti-abortion activists. Despite the scientific consensus, he felt that it posed health risks to women.

The Supreme Court’s ruling, with a conservative majority, means in particular that the measures taken to facilitate access to mifepristone will remain in place – its receipt by post, among other things – while the appeals are considered, which could last for months. .

US President Joe Biden vowed to continue to fight “political attacks on women’s health” after the Supreme Court decision pending a decision on the merits of the case. “The stakes couldn’t be higher for women across America,” Biden added in a statement.

“Good news but…”

This is the most important decision of the Supreme Court on the question of abortion since it canceled the constitutional guarantee to abortion in June 2022. Less than a year later, it had been seized urgently by Joe Biden’s government after conflicting court rulings regarding nationwide access to mifepristone. In combination with another drug, mifepristone has already been used by more than five million American women since its authorization by the American drug agency, the FDA, more than twenty years ago.

After the judgment of the Texas magistrate, an appeal court, seized by the federal government, then allowed the abortion pill to remain authorized, but by limiting the access facilities granted by the FDA over the years. His judgment amounted to prohibiting the mailing of mifepristone and returning to use limited to seven weeks of pregnancy, instead of ten.

The federal government then rushed to the Supreme Court. The latter temporarily maintained access to the abortion pill on April 14, suspending the decision of the court of appeal in order to have more time to examine the file.

America’s First Planned Parenthood Organization Welcomed Abortion Pill’s Temporary Hold “It’s good news but the facts remain the same: Access to mifepristone should never have been threatened in the first place,” reacted Planned Parenthood on Twitter.