Officials, organizations in Illinois react to Supreme Court ruling on abortion pill

CHICAGO (CBS) -- State and local officials and members of the Illinois congressional delegation issued statements of approval, but in some instances caution, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to maintain the Food and Drug Administration approval of a widely-used abortion pill.

The ruling preserves access to the drug and reinstates a number of steps by the agency that made it easier to obtain while legal proceedings continue.

The decision from the court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, came in the most significant case involving abortion since it overturned Roe v. Wade less than one year ago, a ruling that threw the legal landscape into chaos and led to near-total bans on abortion in more than 12 states. In addition to granting the Justice Department's request for emergency relief, the Supreme Court also approved a similar request from Danco Laboratories, the maker of the abortion drug mifepristone.

Late Friday, Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson issued a statement on Twitter affirming the continued right to reproductive health care in Chicago.

"Mifepristone is healthcare and healthcare is a human right. Chicago will continue to support and defend the right to choose," Johnson tweeted. "Our city will always be a safe haven for those seeking reproductive care."

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker tweeted in part: "I'm pleased that the Supreme Court has preserved access to mifepristone while the appeals process plays out in the courts. The Justices have recognized that this safe, tested drug should continue to be available to provide the gold standard of reproductive care and not be restricted based on a ruling by an ideologically motivated judge.

Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton added in a statement:

"We are pleased that the Supreme Court has stayed the decision maintaining access to mifepristone. However, we know the fight is not over. While this decision plays out in the lower courts, know that in Illinois, we trust women and their right to know what's best for their bodies. 

"This medication is used for abortion and also to safely treat a woman suffering a miscarriage. Preserving access to mifepristone without restrictions is a step in the right direction. Any effort to put people's health in jeopardy is unfair and unacceptable. In Illinois, we will continue to ensure that our state is a partner in the fight and an oasis for reproductive justice."

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) cautioned that a national abortion ban is still something some wish to implement:

"Tonight's decision out of the Supreme Court is good news for millions of women nationwide who deserve the right to make their own reproductive health care decisions and will still have access to a drug that the FDA ruled to be safe and effective more than two decades ago.

"But this fight is far from over. Radical right-wing judges and extremist Republican elected officials will continue their efforts to try and strip women of their reproductive freedoms across the nation.

"The Senate Judiciary Committee will be examining these issues more in depth next week, and Senate Democrats will continue to fight to protect women's access to reproductive health care."

U.S. Sen Tammy Duckworth (D-Illinois) issued a statement similar in tone to Durbin's:

"This was the right decision—anything short of preserving access to this FDA-approved drug would have set a dangerous new precedent where one rogue, extremely far-right judge could strip away access to a safe and effective medication for millions of Americans. 

"Make no mistake: this isn't over—this legal case is still pending. And Republicans will continue looking for ways to ban access to abortion for women across every state and take away the freedom to decide what's best for their bodies and families. 

"The Biden Administration should continue to use every tool at its disposal to ensure this medication remains widely available, and Congress should immediately enshrine the right to choose into federal law."

U.S. Reps. Jesús "Chuy" García, Jan Schakowsky, Brad Schneider, and Nikki Budzinski (D-Illinois) each issued statements on Twitter.

U.S. Rep. Bill Foster (D-Illinois) wrote on Twitter: "This is good news for now. A far-right federal judge shouldn't be able to reverse over twenty years of scientific evidence in order to cater to partisan interests. We must continue to support the FDA's independent, expert authority to review, approve, and regulate drugs.

"Congress needs to pass the Women's Health Protection Act to restore abortion access nationwide."

Planned Parenthood of Illinois president and chief executive officer Jennifer Welch issued this statement:

"Planned Parenthood of Illinois (PPIL) is pleased the Supreme Court issued a stay while the litigation on the federal Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval of mifepristone proceeds. We can and will continue offering the safe and effective two-medication regimen of mifepristone and misoprostol. This is a win not only for PPIL patients but people across the country who deserve to have access to high-quality and effective health care including safe and legal medication abortion. 

"The FDA approved mifepristone more than 20 years ago, and it has since been used by more than five million people to safely end an early pregnancy. Medication abortion with mifepristone and misoprostol is the most common abortion procedure across the nation, which means PPIL patients can continue choosing their preferred method of care.   

"While this is a temporary win for abortion rights, the battle is far from over. We will continue to fight and advocate for equitable access to all reproductive and sexual health care services because everyone should have the ability to make a decision that is best for their bodies, their lives, and their futures."

Ameri Klafeta, Director of the Women's and Reproductive Rights Project at the ACLU of Illinois, added in a statement:

"This is good news and a great relief to patients and physicians seeking to use medication that has been safe and effective for millions of patients for more than two decades. Both the law and science should dictate Mifepristone's continued availability for those seeking to terminate a pregnancy and manage miscarriage. 

"In Illinois, everyone should be clear: Abortion remains safe and legal including medication abortion. We will continue to fight for broad access to abortion care in our state."

Illinois Right to life executive director Mary Kate Zander issued a statement opposing the ruling: "It is disappointing that the Supreme Court hasn't sided with the facts, which tell us that Mifepristone is dangerous to women and their health. We are hopeful that, with time, the status and use of this drug will change."

The Alliance Defending Freedom tweeted that it looked "forward to a final outcome that will hold the FDA accountable."

In the Supreme Court decision, Justice Clarence Thomas said he would have denied the emergency applications, and Justice Samuel Alito dissented from the decision, writing that neither the Justice Department nor Danco have shown they are likely to suffer irreparable harm while the appeals process plays out. Alito authored the majority opinion reversing Roe.

The Biden administration and Danco turned to the Supreme Court in the legal battle over mifepristone after a federal judge in Texas suspended the FDA's 23-year-old approval of the drug on April 7, which would have disrupted access to the medication nationwide, including in states where abortion is legal. 

"The district court countermanded a scientific judgment FDA has maintained across five administrations; nullified the approval of a drug that has been safely used by millions of Americans over more than two decades; and upset reliance interests in a healthcare system that depends on the availability of mifepristone as an alternative to surgical abortion for women who choose to lawfully terminate their early pregnancies," the Justice Department wrote to the court.

The Biden administration asked the Supreme Court to pause the district court's order and aspects of a federal appeals court decision that limited how late into pregnancy mifepristone could be taken, who could prescribe it, and how it could be dispensed. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit put on hold the most significant part of the district court's decision — halting the FDA's approval of mifepristone — but blocked the actions by the agency since 2016 that relaxed the rules surrounding the drug.

The appeals court also sped up the Biden administration's appeal of the district court decision, setting arguments for May 17.

"If allowed to take effect, the lower courts' orders would upend the regulatory regime for mifepristone, with sweeping consequences for the pharmaceutical industry, women who need access to the drug, and FDA's ability to implement its statutory authority," Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar told the court of the decisions from U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk and the 5th Circuit.

Hours after the Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to step in, Alito issued an administrative stay, which ensured mifepristone would remain available while the court considered the issue. Alito's order was set to expire at midnight Friday.

The dispute over the abortion pill thrust the Supreme Court back into the center of the national debate over reproductive rights. Further complicating the landscape for abortion access was uncertainty over mifepristone's availability after the court in Texas and a federal court judge in Washington issued conflicting orders one after another. The 5th Circuit's ruling days later, which imposed limits on the abortion drug, only added to the confusion.

Since the Supreme Court rolled back the constitutional right to abortion last June, more than a dozen states have banned or imposed stringent limits on abortion. In 15 states, restrictions are in place that make it harder for patients to obtain medication abortions, including by requiring the drugs to be provided by a physician.

Medication abortions have become increasingly common and accounted for more than half of all abortions in the U.S. in 2020, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Mifepristone is taken in combination with a second medicine, misoprostol, to terminate a pregnancy through 10 weeks gestation.

In:
• Bill Foster
• Supreme Court of the United States
• Abortion Pill
• Dick Durbin
• Jesus "Chuy" Garcia
• Tammy Duckworth
• Brandon Johnson
• JB Pritzker
• Abortion
• Planned Parenthood