While a legal challenge to a widely used abortion pill goes on, the Supreme Court faces a self-imposed Friday night deadline to decide whether women's access to the pill will remain unchanged or be restricted.
As the Supreme Court weighs arguments, restrictions imposed by lower courts would severely disrupt access to mifepristone, the drug used to perform the majority of abortions in the country.
Over 5 million women in the U.S. have used it since the FDA approved it in 2000, and it has repeatedly been found to be safe and effective.
As of now, the Supreme Court is only being asked to block lower-court rulings until the legal case has concluded. In the event that the court doesn't agree with the administration or Danco, they have a fallback argument. By early summer, the court should hear arguments in the case against mifepristone and render a decision.
Rarely does the court take such a step before at least one appeals court has thoroughly examined the legal issues.