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June 13, 2024judicialabortion rightsconstitutional lawFDA drug regulationstanding doctrineSupreme Courtconstitutional lawreproductive health

Supreme Court unanimously rules anti-abortion doctors lack standing, preserving mifepristone access

The Supreme Court unanimously rules 9-0 in FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine that the anti-abortion physician group that challenged mifepristone lacks legal standing to sue because its members do not prescribe the drug and therefore suffer no concrete injury from its availability. Justice Brett Kavanaugh writes the opinion. The decision does not address the merits of the FDA''s approval decisions — it dismisses the case on procedural grounds, leaving the underlying question of FDA authority unresolved. The ruling preserves mifepristone access nationally but signals that future challengers with stronger standing claims could relitigate the same FDA authority questions. Louisiana and other states file new suits within months.