![US Supreme Court rejects bid to restrict abortion pill](https://www.portugalcolonial.pt/media/shared/articles/79/61/c5/US-Supreme-Court-rejects-bid-to-res-967611.jpg)
-
Jamaica's De Cordova-Reid joins Leicester from Fulham
-
Wolves' Kilman reunites with Lopetegui at West Ham
-
Schmidt reign off to winning start as Australia beat Wales 25-16
-
Russian wrestlers reject Olympics invitation
-
Raducanu rediscovers Wimbledon 'fun' factor after turbulent spell
-
Winning all that matters at Euro 2024 for Mbappe's minimalist France
-
Eight dead, two million affected by Bangladesh floods
-
Robertson pleased to 'find a way' past England in tough Test baptism
-
Martin sets lap record to secure German MotoGP pole
-
'Shattered' Germany set sights on World Cup after Euros exit
-
Olympic hope Pedersen pulls out of Tour de France
-
Djokovic eyes sweet 16 at Wimbledon as Swiatek takes on 'gangster'
-
End beckons again for Ronaldo after Portugal Euros KO
-
New Zealand edge England 16-15 in tense, brutal first Test
-
Turkey take on Dutch in politically charged Euros quarter-final, England face Swiss
-
Calling for better ties with West, Iran reformist wins presidency
-
Cybercrime groups restructuring after major takedowns: experts
-
Activists hail Sierra Leone child marriage ban, urge action on FGM
-
Marsch relishing Canada's semi clash with Argentina
-
Canada stun Venezuela on penalties to reach Copa semis
-
Iran reformist Pezeshkian holds early lead in runoff vote
-
Swiatek faces 'gangster' threat, Djokovic feels need for Wimbledon speed
-
France holds its breath ahead of uncertain vote
-
Starmer begins UK 'rebuild' after landslide election win
-
Paris's Moulin Rouge inaugurates new windmill sails ahead of Olympics
-
Pan, Rai share halfway lead in PGA John Deere Classic
-
'I was feeling terrible' in debate, Biden says in TV interview
-
France coach Deschamps savours ending penalty hoodoo, defends Mbappe
-
Thompson bids farewell to Warriors after exit
-
Portugal exit Euros with pride, will return stronger: Martinez
-
UK's new PM Starmer speaks to world leaders, names top team
-
Spain and France to face off in Euros last four, Turkey lament 'unfair' Demiral ban
-
Israel says negotiators to hold fresh Gaza truce talks next week
-
France beat Portugal on penalties to reach Euro 2024 semi-finals
-
Endrick to start for Brazil in Uruguay Copa clash: Dorival
-
Heartbreak for Germany fans after dramatic Euros exit
-
Beryl heads for Texas after causing damage, no deaths in Mexico
-
Nagelsmann laments late penalty decision as hosts Germany exit Euros
-
Biden declares he's all in ahead of high-risk TV interview
-
Spain team 'is a winning horse', says De la Fuente
-
Bows at the ready, Chad villagers battle kidnappings
-
Alcaraz mimics Bellingham goal celebration after Wimbledon win
-
Olmo hopes Pedri can make speedy return for Euros semi-finalists Spain
-
Retiring Kroos hopeful despite Germany's 'bitter' Euros exit
-
Southgate turns on English 'entitlement' over claims of easy Euros draw
-
Merino extra-time goal sends Spain past Germany to Euro semis
-
Koeman demands Dutch silence fervent Turkish fans at Euros
-
Brad Pitt at Silverstone for filming of F1 movie
-
Raducanu storms into Wimbledon last 16
-
California fires spread in July 4 weekend heatwave
![US Supreme Court rejects bid to restrict abortion pill](https://www.portugalcolonial.pt/media/shared/articles/79/61/c5/US-Supreme-Court-rejects-bid-to-res-967611.jpg)
US Supreme Court rejects bid to restrict abortion pill
The US Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a bid to restrict an abortion pill widely used in the United States to terminate pregnancies.
The court, in a unanimous opinion, said the anti-abortion groups and physicians challenging the medication, mifepristone, lacked the legal standing to bring the case.
Abortion rights are one of the key issues in the November election and the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden had urged the court to maintain access to the drug, which was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2000. His opponent Donald Trump leads a Republican Party broadly favoring blocks to abortion access.
The mifepristone case was the first significant abortion case heard by the conservative-dominated Supreme Court since it overturned the previously long-held constitutional right to abortion two years ago.
"We recognize that many citizens, including the plaintiff doctors here, have sincere concerns about and objections to others using mifepristone and obtaining abortions," said Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who wrote the 9-0 opinion.
"But citizens and doctors do not have standing to sue simply because others are allowed to engage in certain activities," Kavanaugh said. "The plaintiffs lack standing to challenge FDA's actions."
The conservative justice said the federal courts were "the wrong forum for addressing the plaintiffs' concerns about FDA's actions" and they could present their objections through regulatory procedures or through the "political and electoral processes."
Abortion opponents have been seeking to restrict nationwide access to the pill, claiming it is unsafe and that anti-abortion doctors were being forced to violate their conscience by intervening on patients who suffered complications after using it.
A conservative US district court judge in Texas, who was appointed during Trump's presidency, issued a ruling last year that would have banned mifepristone.
An appeals court overturned the outright ban because the statute of limitations on challenging the FDA's approval had expired, but restricted access to the drug.
The appeals court reduced the period during which mifepristone can be used from 10 weeks of pregnancy to seven weeks, blocked it from being delivered by mail, and required the pill to be prescribed and administered by a doctor.
The Supreme Court ruling lifts those restrictions.
Medication abortion accounted for 63 percent of the abortions in the country last year, up from 53 percent in 2020, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
Some 20 states have banned or restricted abortion since the Supreme Court in June 2022 overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling that enshrined the constitutional right to abortion for half a century.
Polls show a majority of Americans support continued access to safe abortion, even as conservative groups push to limit the procedure or ban it outright.
Nogueira--PC