Conservative Court to Hear Abortion Pill Battle

The legal status of the abortion drug mifepristone will be debated before the conservative U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which has jurisdiction over Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The court is expected to be skeptical of the Food and Drug Administration's efforts to ease access to the drug, which is used in more than half of recent abortions in the United States. The case, brought by a group of medical organizations and doctors who oppose abortion, could have far-reaching implications for access to abortion and the FDA's regulatory approval of other medications. The Fifth Circuit has already proved receptive to abortion restrictions and has become a testing ground for some of the most contentious policy fights in the nation.