What to know about the Supreme Court’s ruling allowing mifepristone to stay on the market

The Supreme Court unanimously rejected a lawsuit challenging the Food and Drug Administration’s approach to regulating the abortion pill mifepristone, allowing the drug to stay on the market.

The Supreme Court unanimously rejected a lawsuit on Thursday challenging the Food and Drug Administration’s approach to regulating the abortion pill mifepristone, allowing the drug to stay on the market. The court ruled that the doctors and anti-abortion groups that had challenged access to the drug did not have standing to sue. Though technical, the court’s reasoning is important because it might encourage other mifepristone challenges in the future. Medication abortion accounts for nearly two-thirds of all US abortions, according to some estimates. The FDA approved mifepristone in 2000 as part of a two-drug regimen to end a pregnancy, and it has been shown to be safe and effective. The pill is also often prescribed for miscarriage treatment. Here’s what to know about the ruling: The court ruled that the doctors and anti-abortion groups that had challenged access to the drug did not have standing to sue. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who wrote the opinion, said the parties do not have standing “simply because others are allowed to engage in certain activities — at least without the plaintiffs demonstrating how they would be injured by the government’s alleged under-regulation of others.”