The Supreme Court of the United States will examine a sensitive issue this Tuesday, March 26, the abortion pill, following the decision of an ultraconservative appeals court which reestablished restrictions on access to this pill. The decision that will be announced following the planned hearings could have serious consequences, and not only on abortion, but for the entire pharmaceutical industry, many experts believe.
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Will the US Supreme Court restore access to Mifepristone, the most widely used abortion pill in the United States, as it was authorized before 2016? This is in any case the reason why the nine judges of the highest court in the country will meet this Tuesday, March 26.
This pill, authorized since 2000 by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), the American drug agency, has benefited from extended access since 2016, authorizing its use up to 10 weeks of pregnancy and allowing professionals to health not being doctors to prescribe it after a single consultation.
Facilities of access further extended during the Covid crisis, with the FDA then authorizing the sending of this treatment by post after teleconsultation. And it is precisely these latest authorizations granted by the FDA that are being called into question by an appeals court which ordered the reestablishment of access conditions dating from before 2016.
And if by chance the Supreme Court aligns with this judgment, it would be an unprecedented decision, experts believe. “ Interpreting science is not the responsibility of justice », Explains an American lawyer. This could have serious consequences not only for the pharmaceutical industry, but also for the FDA, whose scientific conclusions could be called into question by a simple decision of a judge.
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