Supreme Court skeptical of case to restrict abortion pill mifepristone: Live updates

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

67% : "Erin M. Hawley, the attorney for the anti-abortion doctors, said the existing conscience objection is not good enough because doctors may not have time in an emergency situation to raise one.
67% : Erin M. Hawley, the attorney for the anti-abortion doctors challenging mifepristone, was pressed on why the doctors can't avoid the drug by raising a conscience objection.
66% : Justices on both sides of the court's ideological divide pressed lawyers for anti-abortion doctors for evidence that physicians had been forced to violate their conscience by treating a patient suffering from mifepristone side effects, and they questioned the nationwide sweep of lower court orders restricting use of the drug.
66% : That's one of the decisions anti-abortion groups have asked the Supreme Court to rollback.--Maureen
64% : "Shame on you for what you do," one protester, holding a sign reading, "Anti-racist, anti-capitalist, anti-fascist, anti-abortion pills" shouted at a pro-choice demonstrator holding white plastic coat hangers stained with red paint.
62% : Erin M. Hawley, the attorney for the anti-abortion doctors challenging mifepristone, said the FDA can't ignore federal law.
59% : WASHINGTON - Supreme Court justices on Tuesday sounded skeptical that anti-abortion doctors have the ability to challenge the Food and Drug Administration's rules for a common abortion drug, raising the possibility that the court could dismiss a case that threatened to sharply limit access to mifepristone.
59% : While the appeals court did not rely on that law in ruling that the FDA went too far, anti-abortion advocates have raised it in their filings to the Supreme Court.
59% : Erin Hawley, senior counsel with Alliance Defending Freedom, is representing the anti-abortion doctors and groups challenging the FDA's decisions.
54% : While one anti-abortion group held a vigil and an attendee prayed into a microphone, abortion advocates chanted back "abortion is healthcare" into their own megaphones.
54% : Nearby, calls by one protestor that "Abortion is healthcare, abortion is essential," went against chants by Students for Life members saying, "We are the pro-life generation, and we will abolish abortion."
52% : 'Callous disregard versus an 'extensive body of evidence'Speaking to reporters from the steps of the Supreme Court, Erin Hawley, representing the anti-abortion doctors behind the case, addressed what she called the FDA's "callous disregard" by approving the postal delivery of mifepristone to patients."Women deserve better," Hawley said, adding that regardless of one's position, "we should all agree women's health matters.
49% : That happened over the objections of Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, who would have allowed the rollback sought by anti-abortion groups to take effect.
47% : She said the FDA stopped asking the company to report non-fatal consequence to the drug in 2016, based on 15 years of "a well-established safety profile.""You don't want to sell a product that causes very serious harm to the people who take your product," Alito said.
47% : Nearby, others held signs referencing the Comstock Act, the nineteenth century obscenity law at the center of many abortion opponents' arguments.
46% : Quirk noted that voters in deep red states, including Ohio, have passed state constitutional amendments to enshrine abortion access.
43% : A group of demonstrators shouting "abortion is healthcare" joined the group, attempting to drown out the opposing crowd.-- Cybele Mayes-OstermanProtestor says John Roberts as killing the Constitution; another sign says Brett Kavanaugh is 'sexiest man alive'The group of anti-abortion doctors who are challenging mifepristone made their case to protestors before arguments began.
42% : Ellsworth also noted that Comstock Act hasn't been enforced for nearly 100 years.
40% : Some abortion opponents are promoting the Comstock Act as a de facto federal abortion ban that just needs enforcing.
40% : The first judge to hear this case said a 19th-century obscenity law called the Comstock Act prevents the mailing of abortion drugs.
40% : Any decision by the court that revives the Comstock Act could pave the way toward a national abortion ban.
33% : KucharJustices question sweep of lower court judgementsJustices Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch - all appointees of former President Donald Trump - probed whether the doctors' objections to medication abortions could be solved by anti-abortion doctors asserting a conscience objection to certain treatments, rather than a sweeping judgment affecting nationwide access.
24% : They held mock magazine covers with pictures of the Supreme Court justices - one depicting Chief Justice John Roberts read, "John Roberts: The Man Who Presided Over the Death of the Constitution," while another read, "Brett Kavanaugh: Sexist Man Alive."-- Cybele Mayes-OstermanBiden campaign blames Trump for abortion pill challenge before Supreme CourtAhead of the Supreme Court's oral arguments, President Joe Biden's reelection campaign blamed former President Donald Trump for a case that could strip access to abortion pills across the country - and warned he doesn't want to stop there.

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