BOISE, Idaho — The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday to preserve access to the abortion pill mifepristone. However, in Idaho, the pill remains still remains illegal.
Idaho law currently bans abortion in most cases except for rape, incest, or a doctor’s medical decision to prevent the death of the woman. The Supreme Court ruling, however, does ensure that Idaho women can travel to bordering states, like Washington or Oregon, in order to get mifepristone.
“It is legal to drive herself to Oregon or to Washington, get themself an abortion pill, come home to Idaho and take it and have a safe abortion in the comfort of your own home,” said Ilana Rubel, democratic leader of the House in Idaho.
5.9 million women have used mifepristone for an abortion after it was legalized in 2000.
In 2021, the Biden administration expanded access to the pill and made it available by telehealth.
The pill is used in combination with a second pill to induce an abortion within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy.
A group of anti-abortion doctors claimed the pill was unsafe for women, but the Supreme Court unanimously ruled today the group didn’t have enough legal standing to sue the FDA.
Mistie Dellicarpini-Tolman, the Idaho state director for Planned Parenthood, said this case shouldn’t have gone to the Supreme Court in the first place.
“It’s important that this case was decided the way it is because, for patients traveling from Idaho to other states to receive abortion care, they rely on options like medication in order to be able to make medical decisions that are best for them," Dellicarpini-Tolman said.
Dellicarpini-Tolman said this decision was the bare minimum the Supreme Court could do to help abortion rights nationwide.
“This is the same Supreme Court that unleashed all of these attacks with their decision to overturn Roe nearly two years ago,” she said.
Stanton Health told KTVB in a statement Thursday it is “disappointed to hear about the Supreme Court’s ruling on the abortion pill mifepristone. Unfortunately, the underlying issue of whether chemical abortions are harming women was not addressed. The ruling was based solely on whether the parties had legal standing to bring the case.”
Watch more Local News:
See the latest news from around the Treasure Valley and the Gem State in our YouTube playlist:
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET NEWS FROM KTVB:
Download the KTVB News Mobile App
Apple iOS: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Watch news reports for FREE on YouTube: KTVB YouTube channel
Stream Live for FREE on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching 'KTVB'.
Stream Live for FREE on FIRE TV: Search ‘KTVB’ and click ‘Get’ to download.