Washington, D.C. – Today Concerned Women for America (CWA), the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization, criticized the United States Supreme Court’s decision on FDA v. Alliance Hippocratic Medicine that allows the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to continue to distribute the abortion drug mifepristone in spite of the lack of safety precautions and medical protocols making it dangerous for women to take and undermining its legal obligation to protect women’s health, safety, and welfare.

The plaintiffs in this case, the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, are a group of doctors and national medical associations who oppose the removal of safety precautions around this drug including that since 2021, it can be sent through the mail. The Supreme Court determined these doctors did not have standing to bring this case.

“The Supreme Court’s decision holding pro-life doctors lack of Article III standing to challenge FDA’s actions regarding the regulation of mifepristone in FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine is disappointing and unfortunate because it allows the FDA to continue to put women who take this dangerous drug at risk,” said Penny Nance, CEO and President of CWA.

“But the decision should be seen for what it is, it is a procedural victory that does not answer the merits of the case. The fact that the FDA circumvented the law to irresponsibly approve this drug by misusing emergency procedures was upheld at the lower courts, but these decisions were not ultimately considered by the Supreme Court. CWA hopes a new challenge will be quickly taken up for the sake of the women who will ultimately pay the price of the FDA’s politically motivated actions.”

Mifepristone is used to terminate a pregnancy up to ten weeks, but the lack medical oversight and access to emergency medical assistance can be fatal to young women taking it alone and late in pregnancy. This drug blocks the mother’s natural production of progesterone for her child, cutting off blood and nourishment to the baby. The unborn child begins to starve to death. Between 24-48 hours later, the woman takes Misoprostol, which causes the mother to contract and bleed to force the child out of the womb.

“There is nothing safe or effective about allowing young women to perform their own DIY abortion,” said Nance. “Approval of this drug would allow anyone anywhere to have an abortion without any in-person medical supervision, reliable in-person safeguards and checks, and without a routine medical examination.”

“The FDA is not following its own standards and needs to answer for their reckless disregard for the women who take this drug,” continued Nance. “Young women taking an abortion pill alone in their room with no medical supervision and access to medical care if there are complications is not a ‘safe and effective’ drug but can be fatal.”