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Supreme Court Expected to Rule on Abortion Pill This Week

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The Supreme Court is expected to decide this week whether or not the abortion pill mifepristone can still be used in certain states.  

The ruling will come after multiple court cases in the last week and a half, with decisions both for and against allowing the use of the drug.

The high court will consider whether to grant the Biden Administration's request to preserve FDA approval of mifepristone, which is used in more than half of all U.S. abortions. 

Recent court rulings allow the pill to remain widely available but under new restrictions. 

Pro-abortion advocates have been organizing protests, and Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota accused Republicans of wanting to ban what she called a "safe" medication.  

Klobuchar said on ABC's This Week, "What is it going to be next? Is that judge not going to like birth control pills? Are we going to have a judge that doesn't like Lipitor? 

Republican Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana told NBC's Meet the Press, "I think that's totally alarmist, totally alarmist. And, by the way, when did the FDA think it can go above the law?"

District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk issued a stay earlier this month to bar the prescription and distribution of mifepristone, one of two abortion pills approved for use in the U.S. more than two decades ago, saying the FDA had improperly rushed the drug's approval process.  

An appeals court partially reversed that ruling, forbidding a challenge to FDA approval. But that court did restore some previous safety guidelines, saying mifepristone can no longer be sent via mail and is only available to women up to seven weeks pregnant instead of ten weeks.

Some Republicans are worried about opinion surveys that show abortion could hurt them at the polls. 

A Pew survey showed most Americans think the pill should remain legal in their state;  53 percent, versus 22 percent who oppose it.

However, Republican governors who passed strong pro-life laws did well in the November elections.

Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp is one of them and says Republicans need to do a better job of explaining their position to people.

"We have to explain to people what we're for," Kemp told CNN. "When I tell people we are a state that values life...people are principled in this country, and I think they understand that even if they disagree with you."

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis just signed a 6-week abortion ban called the Heartbeat Protection Act, and polls in Florida show 62 percent of Floridians support it.

Dr. Ileen Herrero-Szostak, a physician with Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said "This bill is protecting, obviously, the life of unborn babies from as early as six weeks when a heartbeat is first detected. And obviously, women's lives are going to be safe and protected through this bill." 

Some observers say Republican presidential contenders could be walking a tightrope on the issue between the party's pro-life base and those voters who want the abortion pill to remain legal.

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About The Author

Dale
Hurd

Since joining CBN News, Dale has reported extensively from Western Europe, as well as China, Russia, and Central and South America. Dale also covered China's opening to capitalism in the early 1990s, as well as the Yugoslav Civil War. CBN News awarded him its Command Performance Award for his reporting from Moscow and Sarajevo. Since 9/11, Dale has reported extensively on various aspects of the global war on terror in the United States and Europe. Follow Dale on Twitter @dalehurd and "like" him at Facebook.com/DaleHurdNews.