If Supreme Court Restricts Abortion Pills, Birth Control Could Be Next

Republicans across the country have blocked Democratic efforts to codify the right to use contraception.

By Mike Ludwig, Truthout

Today the Supreme Court hears oral arguments over whether to restrict access to the abortion medication mifepristone — a drug that became crucial for reproductive freedom after the court’s conservative majority threw out the right to abortion in 2022. Meanwhile, Republicans across the country are thwarting efforts by Democrats to enshrine the right to use birth control and other methods of contraception.

If the Supreme Court offers a broad ruling against Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvals for mifepristone, such a ruling could invite further legal challenges to other medications that are used by millions of people but remain controversial on the right, including Plan B emergency contraception, birth control pills, vaccines and gender-affirming hormone therapy.

The Supreme Court is considering a challenge from an anti-abortion group of doctors to decisions made by the FDA in 2016 and 2021 to make abortion pills available for use at up to 10 weeks of pregnancy and allowing physicians to prescribe the medication remotely. Abortion medications are typically used at home and are considered a safe way to end early pregnancy by major medical associations. Anti-abortion idealogues are attempting to convince the Supreme Court otherwise.