Abortion in the United States

===In response to the coronavirus pandemic===
{{main|Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on abortion in the United States}}
Amid the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], anti-abortion government officials in several American states enacted or attempted to enact restrictions on abortion, characterizing it as a non-essential procedure that can be suspended during the medical emergency.<ref name="Gold">{{cite news |first=Hannah |last=Gold |date=April 7, 2020 |url=https://www.thecut.com/2020/04/every-state-thats-tried-to-ban-abortion-over-coronavirus.html |title=Every State That's Tried to Ban Abortion Over the Coronavirus |website=The Cut |access-date=April 7, 2020}}</ref> The orders have led to several legal challenges and criticism by human rights groups and several national medical organizations, including the [[American Medical Association]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/2020/04/02/826369859/in-texas-oklahoma-women-turned-away-because-of-coronavirus-abortion-bans|title=In Texas, Oklahoma, Women Turned Away Because Of Coronavirus Abortion Bans|website=NPR|access-date=April 8, 2020}}</ref> Legal challenges on behalf of abortion providers, many of which were represented by the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] and [[Planned Parenthood]], successfully stopped most of the orders on a temporary basis.<ref name="Gold"/>

One challenge was made against the FDA's rule on the distribution of [[mifepristone]] (RU-486), one of the two-part drug regimen to induce abortions. Since 2000, it is only available through health providers under the FDA's ruling. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, access to mifepristone was a concern, and the [[American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists]] along with other groups sued to have the rule relaxed to allow women to be able to access mifepristone at home through mail-order or retail pharmacies. While the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit|Fourth Circuit]] issued a preliminary injunction against the FDA's ruling that would have allowed wider distribution, the Supreme Court ordered in a 6–3 decision in January 2021 to put a stay on the injunction, maintaining the FDA's rule.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.vox.com/22227912/supreme-court-anti-abortion-amy-coney-barrett-era-fda-american-college-sonia-sotomayor-john-roberts | title = The Supreme Court hands down its first anti-abortion decision of the Amy Coney Barrett era | first = Ian | last=  Millhauser | date = January 13, 2021 | access-date = January 13, 2021 | work = [[Vox (website)|Vox]] }}</ref>