Supreme Court hears arguments in case that could restrict access to abortion medication mifepristone

Follow AP for live coverage of the arguments before the Supreme Court.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is hearing arguments Tuesday in its first abortion case since conservative justices overturned the constitutional right to an abortion two years ago. At stake is ease of access to a medication that was used in nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the U.S. last year.

Abortion opponents are asking the justices to ratify a ruling from a conservative federal appeals court that would limit access to mifepristone, one of two drugs used in medication abortions.

The high court’s return to the abortion thicket is taking place in a political and regulatory landscape that was reshaped by the abortion decision in 2022 that led many Republican-led states to ban or severely restrict abortion.

That ruling had immediate political consequences, and the outcome in the new case, expected by early summer, could affect races for Congress and the White House.

The scene outside the Supreme Court was lively Tuesday morning, with demonstrators occupying the streets surrounding the court and groups on both sides of the issue marching and chanting. The police blocked traffic surrounding the court as well.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«READ MORE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> READ MORE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Supreme Court again confronts the issue of abortion, this time over access to widely used medication </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Supreme Court opens new frontier for insurrection claims that could target state and