The Supreme Court said Wednesday it will consider whether to restrict access to a widely used abortion drug — even in states where the procedure is still allowed.

The case concerns the drug mifepristone that — when coupled with another drug — is one of the most common abortion methods in the United States.

The decision means the conservative-leaning court will again wade into the abortion debate after overturning Roe v. Wade last year, altering the landscape of abortion rights nationwide and triggering more than half the states to outlaw or severely restrict the procedure.

  • BuelldozerA
    link
    1
    edit-2
    6 months ago

    Not beyond judicial review, but not under the purview of the SCOTUS.

    They aren’t under the purview of SCOTUS. The lower courts are.

    Their only purview is the legality of laws and rulings.

    That’s exactly what they’re doing here. A lower court ruled that the FDA didn’t follow it’s own process when relaxing restrictions around the prescribing and dispensing of mifepristone. The loser appealed and the next highest court ruled that the FDA did follow its own process. Repeat appeals until you reach SCOTUS who is now ruling on which of the lower courts is correct. That’s it.

    SCOTUS is NOT ruling on whether mifepristone is legal or approved for use, it’s ruling on whether a lower court followed the law when reaching its decision and whether or not that decision is consistent with the Constitution. In practical terms whichever way SCOTUS rules it’s those lower courts whose authority will be used to direct (or not) whatever the FDA does next.

    This is fundamentally judicial overreach, as is about 90% of everything they have done this last couple years.

    You see so much as “Judicial Overreach” for two reasons:

    1. You don’t understand the process.
    2. So much of what gets to court, including SCOTUS, these days are questions of Administrative Law because much of this country is being run by Administrative Law. Which is what this case is about.

    Most of what is decried as “Judicial Overreach” should more correctly be called AGENCY Overreach but its being blamed on the Judiciary.

    Like this case. The problem isn’t SCOTUS it’s the agency known as the FDA.