LISTEN LIVE: Supreme Court hears arguments on abortion pill approval

The Supreme Court is slated to hear arguments on Tuesday over the approval of mifepristone, one of two drugs used for abortions.

Mifepristone, which is sold both under the brand name Mifeprex and as a generic drug, is commonly used with one other drug during medication abortions. The stakes of the case were made clear last week when new data showed more than 60 percent of all abortions last year were done through medication.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on the case in August, keeping the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of mifepristone in place but rolling back prior actions by the agency to expand access to the drug.

The Biden administration appealed to the Supreme Court.

The FDA made a series of changes in 2016, 2021 and 2023 that included increasing the gestational age at which mifepristone can be used to up to 10 weeks of pregnancy, allowing the medication to be mailed to patients, lowering the dosage, allowing telehealth prescribing and permitting providers other than physicians to prescribe the drug.

The plaintiffs in the case — a group of anti-abortion doctors and medical associations represented by the Christian legal group Alliance Defending Freedom — want the justices to roll back those changes.

The oral arguments are scheduled for 10 a.m. EDT.