By Canadian Press

Duelling U.S. court rulings over abortion drug set stage for Supreme Court showdown

Apr 12, 2023 | 9:43 AM

WASHINGTON — The debate over abortion rights in the United States is likely headed back to the Supreme Court — this time to settle a federal stalemate.

Last week’s duelling court decisions over the drug mifepristone, one in Texas and another in Washington state, have put abortion issues back on centre stage in the U.S. 

A judge in Texas invalidated the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the so-called abortion pill less than an hour before a separate ruling in Washington effectively ordered the agency to stand its ground. 

The Supreme Court could be asked to intervene as early as Friday, less than a year after its June decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that made abortion a federal right. 

Joyce Arthur of the Abortion Rights Council of Canada says that ruling did not trigger a flood of U.S. patients headed north, in part because the procedure is still legal in several states. 

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Arthur says that even if the Supreme Court were to uphold the Texas ruling, Canada wouldn’t be an option because U.S. patients can only obtain drugs in Canada that are approved by the FDA.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 12, 2023. 

The Canadian Press