Both briefs came to the defense of the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine.

supreme court of the united states facade

Americans United for Life (AUL) filed two amicus curiae briefs in the United States Supreme Court Thursday in the case of Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine. The first brief was filed on behalf of 145 members of Congress, led by Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi in the Senate and Rep. August Pfluger of Texas in the House of Representatives. The brief was signed by 26 senators and 119 representatives. The second brief was filed on behalf of AUL.

On March 26, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in this case, which considers whether pro-life doctors and medical associations are able to challenge the FDA’s 2016 and 2021 deregulation of abortion pills and whether the FDA’s deregulation of abortion pills was conducted unlawfully.

The brief filed on behalf of members of Congress claims that the FDA’s regulation of abortion pills ignored patient safeguards in the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and restrictions on mailing abortifacients in the Comstock Act. The brief filed on behalf of AUL claims that the FDA’s actions have directly injured OB-GYNs in their care of women.

Commenting on the brief filed on behalf of members of Congress, Carolyn McDonnell, litigation counsel, said, “The FDA subverted patient safeguards within federal laws when it deregulated chemical abortion drugs in 2016 and 2021. Chemical abortions already pose significant health and safety risks, and the FDA’s actions exacerbated these risks for women and adolescents.”

On the brief filed on behalf of AUL, Clarke Forsythe, senior counsel, said, “In 2000, the FDA violated its legal boundaries and did not conduct necessary safety trials required by federal law when it approved chemical abortion for the American medical market. Since then, the FDA has progressively repealed the safety conditions to protect women’s health from the risks of ectopic pregnancy, septic infection, hemorrhage, and Rh negativity.”

The first brief was produced by Steven H. Aden, chief legal officer & general counsel, Carolyn McDonnell, and Danielle Pimentel, policy counsel. The second brief was produced by Steven H. Aden, Clarke Forsythe, Carolyn McDonnell, and Danielle Pimentel. Benjamin Ogilvie, University of Chicago Law School ’25, assisted with research for the second brief.

Read the brief filed on behalf of members of Congress here and the brief filed on behalf of AUL here.