Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Supreme Court Punts On Abortion Pill Decision Until Friday
NPR: Supreme Court Delays Ruling On Mifepristone Restrictions Until Friday
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday extended until Friday at midnight an administrative stay in an ongoing lower-court fight over the FDA-approved use of the abortion pill mifepristone. The announcement kicks the can down the road on what the high court will do for another few days. (4/19)
AP: Supreme Court Temporarily Extends Access To Abortion Pill To Friday
The justices are scheduled to meet for a private conference Friday, where they could talk about the issue. The additional time could be part of an effort to craft an order that has broad support among the justices. Or one or more justices might be writing a separate opinion, and asked for a couple of extra days. (Sherman, 4/20)
AP: As Courts Weigh Abortion Pill Rules, Patients Ask: What Now?
All the legal rulings lately on a key drug used in medication abortions may leave many women wondering: What does this mean for me? Various courts have recently ruled on mifepristone, which is used in the most common form of abortion in the U.S. On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily extended access to the pill until Friday while justices consider whether to allow some restrictions to take effect. Meanwhile, doctors, clinics and telehealth providers are taking steps to ensure they’ll still be able to offer abortion care in the future. (Ungar, 4/19)
The company that makes generic mifepristone has sued the FDA —
CNBC: Abortion Pill Company GenBioPro Asks U.S. Court To Keep Generic Mifepristone On Market
A pharmaceutical company that distributes the majority of the U.S. supply of the abortion pill mifepristone sued the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday in an effort to keep its generic version of the drug on the market as a chaotic legal battle over the medication plays out in multiple federal courts. GenBioPro asked the U.S. District Court for Maryland to preemptively block the FDA from pulling the company’s 2019 approval to distribute the company’s version of mifepristone. (Pierson, 4/19)
Also —
Reuters: One Drug Medication Abortion With Misoprostol Grows In US
Use of the drug misoprostol on its own to terminate pregnancies is on the rise in the United States as providers seek a preemptive alternative while a ban on abortion pill mifepristone is being considered in court. (Aboulenein and Erman, 4/20)
Stat: FDA's Califf Talks Gene Therapies, Abortion Pill, Alzheimer’s Drugs
Senators grilled FDA Commissioner Robert Califf Wednesday on everything from the agency’s stance on a Texas court’s attempt to ban the abortion pill mifepristone to the uptick in clinical trial holds for cell and gene therapies. Califf has been making the rounds on Capitol Hill to discuss President Biden’s budget request for the Food and Drug Administration, and the appearances give lawmakers a chance to buttonhole him on budget items as well as politically explosive issues that have nothing to do with the funding request. (Wilkerson, 4/19)
ABC News: What Does The Science Say About Abortion Pill 'Reversal' Treatment After Ban Is Halted In Colorado?
Earlier this week, a federal judge in Colorado temporarily exempted a Catholic healthcare clinic from having to follow the state's recent ban on abortion pill "reversal" treatment. Gov. Jared Polis signed the ban as part of a series of bills Friday, becoming the first state in the U.S. to ban use of the treatment and furthering enshrining abortion access in Colorado. (Kekatos, 4/20)
