US Justice Department to take abortion pill fight to Supreme Court

By Rabia Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - US Attorney General Merrick Garland said on Thursday that the Justice Department will take the fight over an abortion pill to the Supreme Court, hours after an appeals court ruling that limited the distribution and access to the abortion pill mifepristone.

"The Justice Department strongly disagrees with the Fifth Circuit's decision in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA to deny in part our request for a stay pending appeal," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. "We will be seeking emergency relief from the Supreme Court to defend the FDA's scientific judgment and protect Americans' access to safe and effective reproductive care."

The federal appeals court on Wednesday sided in part with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and part with anti-abortion groups, ruling that mifepristone could remain available while the lawsuit, filed against the FDA, proceeds through the courts.

Speaking to reporters during President Joe Biden's visit to Ireland, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the administration would continue the fight.

"We are going to continue to fight in the courts. We believe that the law is on our side and we will prevail ... I can reassure the American people that that is our commitment to women, millions of women across the country, and also providers who are, who are, you know, at the frontlines, working every day to make sure that women are able to make decisions for themselves about their own body," she told reporters Thursday.