Abortion Pills

Republican Party policy on birth control and abortion access has made headlines throughout the 2024 campaign, with GOP senators this month voting to block a bill that would have guaranteed access to contraceptives nationwide.

The Right to Contraception Act was stopped in its tracks after failing to achieve the 60 votes required for a full Senate vote, with all opposition to the legislation coming from Republicans.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday ruled a group of doctors lacked legal standing to challenge the Food and Drug Administration's regulation of the abortion pill mifepristone, preserving access to the medication nationwide.

The unanimous opinion was authored by Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

The case put abortion access back in the spotlight for the court after its conservative majority voted to overrule Roe v. Wade in 2022.

A bill passed by Louisiana lawmakers Thursday could see the state become the first in the country to classify two abortion-inducing drugs as controlled and dangerous substances—a move doctors and reproductive rights advocates say could have far-reaching implications for health care access in the state.

The Louisiana Senate passed legislation classifying abortion pills as controlled substances, setting up the state to become the first in the U.S. to criminalize possession of the drugs without a prescription. 

The measure passed the GOP-controlled Senate Thursday by a vote of 29 to 7. It passed the state House on Tuesday. If Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signs the bill, as expected, Louisiana would become the first state to classify misoprostol and mifepristone—two drugs used to end pregnancies—as controlled substances.

Louisiana Republicans have advanced a measure that would criminalize possession without valid prescription of two drugs commonly used for illegal abortions.

The measure (SB 276), which passed in the state Senate 29-7 and House 63-29 this week, adds both mifepristone and misoprostol to the state’s list of dangerous controlled substances and creates punishment for coerced abortions. Those two drugs are used to end the life of an unborn child in over half of all recorded abortions.

The majority of Americans still support broad access to abortion, new research shows, despite aggressive efforts by the GOP to convince voters it’s dangerous and immoral.

The findings released by Pew Research on Monday show 63% of Americans say abortion should be legal “in all or most cases,” up four percentage points from that share in 2021. Even two-thirds of moderate and liberal Republicans share that view, the survey found.

The Supreme Court appeared listless, even bored, during Tuesday’s oral arguments in FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, the case asking the courts to ban the abortion drug mifepristone.

Their frustration with the Alliance case is understandable, since they’ve been dealing with it for nearly an entire year. Last April, after two lower courts issued decisions that would have effectively removed mifepristone from the market, the justices voted 7-2 to leave access to mifepristone intact while this case was being appealed.

Anti-abortion activists and elected officials have a backup plan should the Supreme Court reject their arguments for nationwide restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone. In fact, they have several.