Advocates, opponents to abortion access in PA say legal fight over Mifepristone far from finished
Some found relief with the Supreme Court's abortion pull ruling, though legal observers point out there's still a lot to be decided.
The ruling changes nothing about access to abortion in Pennsylvania, which is still legal up to the 24th week of pregnancy.
But when it comes to accessing mifepristone, an abortion pill, it's still available for now.
"This case is not over,” said Dara Purvis, a professor of law at Penn State.
Purvis said the decision from the U.S. Supreme Court is not the final say, but it does carry some weight while the matter makes its way through the legal system.
"For the immediate future, and I would say at least for several months if not a year or two into the future mifepristone will remain available as it has been. This undoes the Texas injunction,” Purvis said.
Planned Parenthood PA Advocates Executive Director Signe Espinoza welcomed the news and said the case itself is just the latest attack on access to abortion across the country.
"We want to make sure that abortion remains accessible to anyone who needs it in the state of Pennsylvania and we're going to continue that fight,” Espinoza said.
Abortion opponents like the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Pro-life Federation emphasized that the Friday decision by the Supreme Court was not the final say on mifepristone and called the drug dangerous.
Espinoza doesn't agree.
"Really this should have never happened. anti-science judges, organizations, should not be determining what is best for people across this country,” Espinoza said.
Espinoza also said the issue highlights the importance of upcoming elections — noting people sent to Harrisburg or Washington, D.C. can have a major impact on the future of abortion access.