The US Supreme Court's Decision To Revoke Legalization Of Abortion Reaps Demonstrations, How Are Abortion Pills Used?

Protest for the protection of abortion rights in the United States. (Wikimedia Commons/Senate Democrats)

JAKARTA - Hundreds of protesters took to the US Supreme Court over the weekend to condemn Roe v. Wade is half a century old, on recognizing women's constitutional right to abortion.

The big decision by the court, with a conservative majority of 6-3, is set to change the life of the United States, with nearly half of the states deemed certain or likely to ban abortion.

Conservative Judge Clarence Thomas suggested the court's reasons could also cause him to reconsider past decisions that protected the right to contraception, legalized gay marriage nationwide and overturned state laws that prohibit gay sex.

The number of demonstrators outside the Supreme Court increased substantially. The fenced-in area in front of the high court is mostly filled with those demanding abortion rights.

The crowd carried posters with slogans such as "Abort SCOTUS." One protester carried a placard saying "limit guns, not women" in reference to another Supreme Court decision this week expanding gun rights.

Protests to protect abortion rights in the United States. (Wikimedia Commons/Conatw95)

President Joe Biden, who on Friday expressed deep disappointment with the court's ruling, said Saturday that the White House will monitor how states enforce the ban, with administration officials having signaled they plan to counter efforts to ban pills used for medicinal abortion.

"Those decisions are implemented by the states. My administration will focus on how they manage and whether they violate other laws or not," said President Biden.

The White House said it would also challenge any state efforts to limit women's ability to travel outside their state to have abortions.

The administration has indicated it will seek to prevent states from banning pills used for medicinal abortion. The government could argue in court that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval of mifepristone, one of the pills used for drug abortion, predates state restrictions, meaning federal authority exceeds any state action.

The same argument has been advanced by Las Vegas-based GenBioPro Inc, which sells a generic version of the pill, in a lawsuit challenging Mississippi's restrictions on drug abortion.

More than a dozen states are planning to almost completely ban abortion with the overturning of the Roe v. Wade. In a stunning ruling, the conservative-majority Supreme Court overturned Roe by a 5-4 vote on Friday, saying there is no right to abortion in the US Constitution.

However, states are likely to face other difficulties in enforcing restrictions on drug abortion, as women may still be able to obtain pills online or in other states.

Protests to protect abortion rights in the United States. (Wikimedia Commons/Charles Edward Miller)

Separately, Attorney General Merrick Garland was more explicit about what the Department of Justice is after, saying in a statement: "The state may not ban mifepristone based on disagreement with the FDA's expert assessment of its safety and efficacy."

Mifepristone was approved for use in abortion by the FDA in 2000, long after Roe was discontinued in 1973. The pill, also known as RU 486, blocks the pregnancy-sustaining hormone progesterone while another drug used, misoprostol, induces uterine contractions.

Meanwhile, Greer Donley, a University of Pittsburgh Law School professor who specializes in reproductive rights, said the government's stance "shows they understand the stakes and are willing to pursue new ideas."

Even before Roe was ousted, the state imposed restrictions on access to the pill. There are 19 states that require women to make in-person visits to get the drug, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports the right to have an abortion.

As for legal experts, the law on prevention is unclear because Congress has never said explicitly, FDA approval trumps state legislation as it has done in the context of medical devices. It will therefore be left to the courts to decide questions under a theory known as "implied prelude."

The widespread availability of abortion pills in states seeking to limit or ban the procedure would be a major setback for anti-abortion campaigners who have long sought to outright ban abortion.

With the cancellation of Roe v. Wade, the states will also have more leeway to state that they have a separate interest in preventing abortion based on moral objections to abortion.