Supreme Court Ruling Does Not Change the Facts about Abortion Pills, says Bishop Burbidge

WASHINGTON – “The Court’s ruling late last week on procedural grounds does not change the fact that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration [FDA] repeatedly and unlawfully cut corners to put chemical abortion pills on the market and then to reduce the safety protocols around them – putting the health of women and girls at risk,” Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Arlington, Chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Pro-Life Activities, said in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine.

In its decision on Thursday, the Court determined that the pro-life health care professionals who brought the lawsuit did not have the legally required standing to challenge the FDA’s actions that have now made the abortion drug, mifepristone (previously known as RU-486), widely available.

Bishop Burbidge continued, “From my heart, I thank all of the faithful who joined Archbishop Broglio and myself in prayer regarding this important case. We will continue to pray, to advocate for the health and safety of women and the preborn, and to lovingly serve mothers in need so that they may feel prepared to welcome their children.”

The USCCB had joined an amicus curiae brief in the case in February. On the eve of oral arguments in March, Bishop Burbidge and Archbishop Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA and president of the USCCB, offered a nationwide invitation to prayer for the case and for the lives of women and their children. For more information on chemical abortion (sometimes called “medical abortion” or “medication abortion” by its proponents), the USCCB has multiple fact sheets available online.

###