Pro-life groups assail FDA for 'reckless disregard' in Supreme Court abortion pill case

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Pro-life leaders are accusing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of operating with a "reckless disregard for women's health and safety" over the agency's handling of a controversial abortion pill that's now at the center of a high-stakes high court case.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday heard arguments in a case that could curb nationwide access to abortion pills such as mifepristone — the drug that's drawn the ire of the pro-life community, including March for Life President Jeanne Mancini.

"The FDA’s removal of nearly all safeguards around the dangerous abortion drug mifepristone has needlessly put women and girls at risk for suffering severe — even life-threatening — complications without the ongoing care of a medical provider," Mancini said. "We hope the FDA will be held accountable for failing to meet its own standards when it comes to abortion drugs. Such reckless disregard for women's health and safety is unacceptable from an agency tasked with protecting it."

The case, FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, centers around mifepristone. Approved by the FDA in 2000, the medication is used alongside another drug to end a pregnancy as early as 10 weeks gestation.

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The FDA