Demonstrations occurred outside the U.S. Capitol and Supreme Court on Tuesday amid arguments over mifepristone. (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Womens March)
The FDA took strides in 2021 — the year before the Supreme Court's June 2022 ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade — to make mifepristone more accessible, including by removing the requirement for patients to see a doctor in person to get a prescription.
But months after the Supreme Court's landmark summer decision, a federal appeals court in Texas ruled the FDA's policy change was illegal, as was an earlier update that extended the pill’s recommended usage by several weeks. The high court is now reviewing that decision.
"Bowing to pressure from the abortion industry, the FDA loosened the safety requirements of mifepristone which still has a black box warning," National Right to Life President Carol Tobias said. "Drugs that come with black box warnings have the most dangerous side effects and safety concerns, yet the FDA is okay with mifepristone being prescribed and even mailed to women without an in-person exam."
FORMER SUPREME COURT JUSTICE STEPHEN BREYER SOUNDS OFF ON DOBBS DECISION: ‘TOO MANY QUESTIONS’
Protesters gather in the wake of the decision overturning Roe v. Wade outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on June 25, 2022. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
"Decades of research and clinical experience have demonstrated that mifepristone is extraordinarily safe and effective, including when dispensed by pharmacies or through the mail," Rabia Muqaddam, senior staff attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights, told Fox News Digital. "There is no legitimate science disputing this research. Instead, the plaintiffs in the case rely on widely discredited and even retracted research articles and the say-so of anti-abortion zealots."
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Muqaddam added: "If the Supreme Court sides with the plaintiffs and their junk science over the FDA and decades of high-quality research, countless people will suffer as will the ability of Americans to access important drug innovations."
Planned Parenthood President Alexis McGill Johnson cast the case as a "threat" to women's rights — and more.
"Beyond the threat to our fundamental rights, the very existence of this case puts every other FDA-approved medication at risk of being taken off the market or restricted for political reasons," Johnson said. "That is reason enough to be clear about how serious this case is for the future of sexual and reproductive health care and everything beyond."
Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.
Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/pro-life-groups-accuse-fda-reckless-disregard-female-lives-after-supreme-court-arguments