Protesters rallied at the Supreme Court on Tuesday as the judges prepared to take up a Texas case on the abortion pill.
Amarillo Federal Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk ruled nearly a year ago that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) did not properly evaluate the abortion drug mifepristone before it was approved in 2000 and later deregulated in 2016 and 2022, per The Texas Tribune. The Supreme Court will now take up the case, which could put the regulation status of the drug in jeopardy.
Deregulation efforts at the FDA in recent years allowed women to obtain chemical abortion pills via mail after telemedicine appointments. “Shield laws” passed in Democrat-led states have led to a flood of abortion pills into states where abortion is illegal, such as Texas, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
A reporter from DX was present at the Supreme Court on March 26 and noted chants from both sides, such as “Two, four, six, eight, abortion pills in every state” and “Let their hearts beat.”
Volunteers at Aid Access, a leading abortion pill group, appeared at the protest with small robots that distributed abortion pills. These robots were operated by doctors in states with shield laws that prescribed the drugs, according to one volunteer, Mira Michels, who emphasized her group would distribute the drugs regardless of what the nation’s highest court rules.
Pill-providing robot | Image by Patrick Hauf/The Dallas Express
“The idea is to show that one, shield laws make it so that we can protect people and get them the care they need,” Michels told DX.
“And also, if a robot can deliver abortion care, it doesn’t matter what happens with the Supreme Court. It doesn’t matter if it’s by drone, if it’s by boat, by mail, we will get women the abortion pills they need and provide them support,” added Michels.
Anti-abortion protesters emphasized the need to regulate mifepristone to ensure the safety of women. Chemical abortion pills have a complication rate of about four times that of surgical abortions due to hemorrhages, according to the Charlotte Lozier Institute.
“Overall, if you’re pro-choice or pro-life, you should not be against safeguards, which is what this case is at the Supreme Court today,” Savanna Deretich, the government affairs coordinator for Students for Life Action, told DX.
“It’s important to remember that the 14th Amendment gives the right to life, liberty, and property. The constitution is pro-life,” added Deretich.
Kristen Day, the executive director of Democrats For Life of America, told DX that her party should be in favor of chemical abortion pill regulations.
“What the FDA has done is ignore the health and safety regulations. Especially as a Democrat, we always try to push regulations that make women safe,” Day said.
“We’ve always clamored about how we’re sending women to back alleys for abortion. But now we’re sending women to their bathrooms alone,” Day added.
Kim Schrader, an Amarillo native, traveled to the nation’s capital with several friends to voice her support for Judge Kacsmaryk.
“I love that in this day and time when it’s getting harder to take a stand, that [Kacsmaryk] is strong and he is standing for truth and righteousness. He is standing for me, and I appreciate him for that,” she told DX.
“Amarillo is very much pro-life. We love these mothers; we love these babies. We don’t want this medication being passed out to hurt these women,” Schrader added.
