Illegitimate Court Makes Blatantly Obvious Decision
Nationwide – Today, in Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously on what was otherwise a painfully obvious fact: The plaintiffs lacked standing in their efforts to ban mifepristone, one of two drugs used in medication abortion.
Jodi Jacobson, Executive Director of Healthcare Across Borders (HCAB), issued the following statement:
“The plaintiffs in this case are anti-abortion extremists who brought a case that should never have gone further than a shredder. More to the point, this Court has no business adjudicating the validity of public health, scientific, or medical evidence it does not understand, for which it has no expertise, and against which it has proven to be deeply biased.
“There is no doubt that extremists will continue to create fictional claims of ‘harms,’ but they lack legitimacy of any kind. Over 100 studies have proven that mifepristone is safe and effective. Roughly two-thirds of all first trimester abortions in the United States are carried out using medication abortion—the combination of mifepristone and misoprostol—with absolutely zero evidence of widespread harm. Mifepristone is approved for use in 96 countries and the World Health Organization considers it an essential drug.
“This decision is a short term victory in that mifepristone will remain available in the U.S. for now. But a rightwing administration could appoint a new FDA commissioner that could ban mifepristone. The right has also made clear that they plan to deploy the Comstock Act to ban the mailing of abortion pills and any materials used in abortion or miscarriage treatment.
“It has long been clear that we cannot depend on the Supreme Court filled with Republican operatives in judicial robes as a democratic institution meant to advance true justice or protect our rights. The Court is stacked with far right justices who regularly base their decisions on dangerous ideologies, political vendettas, rightwing fictions, and the demands of the highest bidder, making us all less safe and leading to more suffering. It is past time to expand this corrupt and illegitimate Court and ensure that facts and the pursuit of justice—not the pursuit of ideology—drive our laws and policies.”
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Healthcare Across Borders (HCAB) works to ensure everyone has full access to essential reproductive, sexual, and gender-affirming care regardless of zip code, and unencumbered by cost, discrimination, ideology, or stigma. HCAB works with clinicians, lawyers, human rights advocates, and concerned citizens to promote universal access to essential care by 1) supporting new and rapidly evolving models of care that better meet the needs of all people, including de-medicalization of care where appropriate; 2) advocating for effective harm reduction strategies wherever necessary; and 3) conducting public education on the dangers of criminalizing healthcare.