Supreme Court justices discuss whether to hear abortion pill showdown

Supreme Court justices were scheduled on Friday to discuss whether to take up a high-stakes legal fight that could result in a definitive decision on federal approval of the drug most commonly used for medication abortion.

At their regular private meeting, the nine justices were due to consider three different appeals raising different legal issues, including one filed by those challenging the Food and Drug Administration’s original 2000 approval of the mifepristone pill.

The two other appeals, brought by the Biden administration and drugmaker Danco Laboratories, are seeking to uphold decisions by the FDA that made it easier to access and use the pill in recent years. Danco makes the brand version of the pill, Mifeprex.

Even the court's decision on whether to take up the appeals is of practical importance because if the justices decide not to intervene in the ongoing litigation, an appeals court ruling that limited the availability of the drug by mail would go into effect.