Trump’s Second Term: Mifepristone Battle Looms as Early Test of Abortion Stance

Mifepristone's Legal Status:
The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled against anti-abortion groups on a technicality, preserving access to mifepristone, a medication used in most U.S. abortions. However, the fight is far from over, with extremist politicians vowing to continue efforts to restrict access4.

Trump's Potential Impact:
Donald Trump's second term could bring renewed threats to abortion access, particularly targeting mifepristone. Trump's administration might reinstate in-person requirements for abortion pills or roll back other eased regulations, such as telehealth prescriptions and mail delivery3 5.

Previous Legal Challenges:
The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, an anti-abortion group, filed a lawsuit challenging the FDA's approval of mifepristone, arguing that the agency did not properly vet its safety. The Supreme Court intervened, allowing mifepristone to stay on the market but undoing some newer regulations1.

Global Implications:
Trump's potential policies, including the reinstatement and expansion of the Global Gag Rule, could have a devastating impact on sexual and reproductive healthcare and abortion rights globally, limiting access to essential reproductive healthcare and leading to unintended pregnancies and unsafe abortions2.

Executive Power:
Trump's administration would have substantial power to further restrict abortion, even without Congressional support. This includes imposing new restrictions on mifepristone, leveraging executive branch powers, and potentially using the Comstock Act to disrupt the supply chain of abortion pills3 5.