- Janice Hopkins Tanne
- New York
Justice Samuel Alito of the US Supreme Court ruled on 14 April that mifepristone, a drug used in more than half of US abortions, will remain available until 11:59 pm on Wednesday 19 April 2023.
The temporary hold means mifepristone remains available while the Supreme Court considers lower court decisions.
Mifepristone is used together with misoprostol in 54% of all abortions in the US, according to the Guttmacher Institute, which researches reproductive matters.1 It is also used to treat incomplete miscarriages and has other uses. Misoprostol alone can be used in medication abortions but may cause more side effects.
Abortion was legal in the US until 24 June 2022, when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade and returned abortion decisions to individual states. Abortion remains legal in about half the states.2
Alito’s temporary hold on the decision banning …