Supreme Court Seems Skeptical of Bid to Restrict Abortion Pill Access

Lawyers and justices spent much of the hearing discussing whether the group that brought the challenge had legal standing.

Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court pose for their official photo at the Supreme Court in Washington on Oct. 7, 2022. (Front L–R) Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Samuel Alito and Justice Elena Kagan. (Back L–R) Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

The Supreme Court appeared skeptical of a challenge brought by a doctors’ group against the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) loosening of regulations of the abortion pill mifepristone.

In oral arguments on March 26, several justices seemed to question whether the doctors’ group had a right to bring the challenge, known in legal parlance as standing—a key argument in the government’s case.