Supreme Court weighs major changes to abortion pill access: Recap

The Supreme Court on Tuesday heard oral arguments in a case that could have sweeping consequences for all Americans’ access to mifepristone, a widely used abortion pill.

The hearing returns the issue of abortion to the Supreme Court almost two years after its landmark decision to overturn constitutional protections to the procedure.

The court is essentially being asked to uphold an appeals court ruling that overrides a series of changes made by the Food and Drug Administration over the past decade, including increasing the gestational age at which mifepristone can be used to up to 10 weeks of pregnancy, allowing the medication to be mailed to patients, lowering the dosage, allowing telehealth prescribing, and permitting providers other than physicians to prescribe the drug.

The stakes of the case were made clear this week when new data showed more than 60 percent of all abortions last year were done through medication.

Activists on both sides rallied outside the court on Tuesday, with arguments wrapping up before noon.