I think a lot of people are surprised by this, but I think it's mostly 9-0 because it wasn't really settled on any merits -- these people just did not have standing to sue.
I'm pretty sure this came out of the 5th Circuit and I'd expect to see more rulings like this smacking the 5th Circuit down because it specifically has gone off the rails and started making insane rulings unsupported by any law or precedent.
While SCOTUS has made some questionable rulings in the last several years, they're still going to punt in obvious situations where they can.
It is crazy that there are all these fights for women rights at a time where we should focus on making the humanity survive the ecological apocalypse...
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, writing for the court, wrote that while plaintiffs have "sincere legal, moral, ideological, and policy objections to elective abortion and to FDA's relaxed regulation of mifepristone," that does not mean they have a federal case.
Curve ball Kavanaugh is so hard to pin down. I’m grateful he voted to protect access, but I can’t seem to predict his position. Maybe with time he’ll turn into the right-wing version of Thomas and become a full throttle traitor to his party.
plaintiffs have "sincere legal, moral, ideological, and policy objections to elective abortion and to FDA's relaxed regulation of mifepristone," that does not mean they have a federal case.
I read that as "Rephrase the case and send it back".
Maybe, but elsewhere he suggests this issue should be decided by elected officials:
"The plaintiffs may present their concerns and objections to the president and FDA in the regulatory process or to Congress and the president in the legislative process," Kavanaugh wrote. "And they may also express their views about abortion and mifepristone to fellow citizens, including in the political and electoral processes."
Good point. I realized after I commented that he was just writing on behalf of the court. Regardless, he’s been the only Justice to dissent from party opinion on several cases recently.
They voted that the case is obviously lacking on technical grounds of standing. That's not the same as voting to protect access. They just want a better set of plaintiffs.
Moreover, the law has never permitted doctors to challenge the government’s loosening of general public safety requirements simply because more individuals might then show up at emergency rooms or in doctors’ offices with follow-on injuries. Citizens and doctors who object to what the law allows others to do may always take their concerns to the Executive and Legislative Branches and seek greater regulatory or legislative restrictions
Pg 3 of the opinion
No one wants to set a precedent for sueing the government every time they don't stop a potential bad thing from happening.
It's a unanimous decision, but they didn't really vote to protect access at all. They simply agreed that the doctors who filed the lawsuit has no standing to challenge it in the courts in the first place. So they basically said the lawsuit wasn't valid, they didn't rule on the merits at all.
The only good thing out of this is that it indirectly reinforces the rulings of the FDA as legitimate. So the Dismantling of the Administrative State is put on hold temporarily. Although who knows what the next case may bring.....
It's incredible how easily people assume something to be true and take the time to unintentionally spread misinformation in a public forum. Had they just taken two minutes to read the content which they're commenting on, this could easily be avoided. I mean, "rejected" is right in the headline - really didn't even need to read the article.
And yet people are upvoting these inaccuracies because they emotionally agree with the comment even though it's proven false in the headline.
Moreover, the law has never permitted doctors to challenge the government’s loosening of general public safety requirements simply because more individuals might then show up at emergency rooms or in doctors’ offices with follow-on injuries. Citizens and doctors who object to what the law allows others to do may always take their concerns to the Executive and Legislative Branches and seek greater regulatory or legislative restrictions
Pg 3 of the opinion is pretty clear that launching a case against the government for not banning something will just result in your case being DOA. Yes its technically a standing issue, but they've essentially ruled that you can't have standing to sue under this situation. Effectively ruling on the merits.
It didn't protect access in the sense that it prevented legislation restricting it but it did prevent unmerited lawsuits seeking to prevent its national sale.
To be fair, this was never really about making mifepristone illegal outright. It was mostly about the FDA rules that would allow by mail order without first consulting a doctor. Consulting a doctor for its other uses would allow it to be prescribed for them.
Hopefully after they finish women and LGBTQA people hopefully then we can start a war with Iran, Irak, Israel, China, Ruzzia, Venezuela and or Mexico. That could help the housing crisis. Could help with the incarceration numbers if they use inmates first...if you think about it.