Manufacturer Danco urges US Supreme Court to reverse abortion pill curbs

Danco filed a written brief outlining its main arguments to preserve broad access to the pill, called mifepristone, in its appeal of an August decision by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that barred telemedicine prescriptions and shipments by mail of the drug.

Abortion pill maker Danco Laboratories on Tuesday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a lower court's decision that would curb access to the medication as the company seeks to defend how the medication is delivered and distributed. Danco filed a written brief outlining its main arguments to preserve broad access to the pill, called mifepristone, in its appeal of an August decision by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that barred telemedicine prescriptions and shipments by mail of the drug. The legal challenge to the pill was brought in Texas by anti-abortion groups and doctors.

President Joe Biden's administration is also expected to file its brief in the case. The Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, ended its recognition of a constitutional right to abortion in 2022 in a ruling overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade precedent. The justices decided in December to hear the mifepristone case but have not yet announced the date when they will hear arguments. Their eventual ruling would be expected by the end of June - in the middle of a presidential race in which Biden, a Democrat, is campaigning for re-election.

The 5th Circuit's decision is currently on hold pending the outcome of the Supreme Court appeal. Mifepristone is taken with another drug called misoprostol to perform medication abortion, which accounts for more than half of all U.S. abortions.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which gave regulatory approval to mifepristone in 2000, has called the drug safe and effective as demonstrated over its decades of use by millions of American women, with adverse effects on them exceedingly rare. The case could jeopardize the authority of the FDA, the federal agency that signs off on the safety of food products, drugs and medical devices.