well the United States Supreme Court is preserving access to the abortion pill but it's not the last word the Court's decision Friday night staves off sweeping restrictions to miffapristone ordered by lower courts but the legal battle is expected to drag on for months if not longer setting the stage for the most significant case involving abortion since Roe was overturned last June the high Court's decision appears to be in line with the majority of Americans a new PBS NewsHour NPR Marist poll finds about two-thirds of Americans including a majority of Republicans oppose laws Banning access to medication abortion the case now heads back to the appeals court its outcome all but certain senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan has reaction from those on both sides of the issue here in New Jersey I'm glad that we can continue to use this medication while the courts are sorting out what the next step is Dr Kristen Brandy gave a sigh of relief after the U.S Supreme Court on Friday blocked a lower Court ruling that could have imposed severe restrictions on methopristone the nation's foremost medical abortion method but it's a temporary stay pending more legal battles which could ultimately impact Dr Brandy's OB GYN practice I'm worried because it still means we don't have a firm decision about whether or not we can actually use this medicine going forward in the future um and it just remains really frustrating that I have to wait for judges to tell me what's best for my patients the original order by a Texas judge would have yanked him if a pristone completely off the market over alleged safety concerns the conservative fifth Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed stating the drug could still be dispensed but only according to the fda's original rules adopted 23 years ago ignoring all FDA updates that would have restricted use to procedures at seven weeks of pregnancy instead of the current 10 required in-person prescriptions by a doctor after three in-person office visits instead of one telemedicine call and banned delivery of the drug by mail the U.S Supreme Court called a timeout what it means for the time being is that mipopristone stays on the market and it stays on the market exactly at status quo Rutgers legal analyst Kim Murchison claims she's not surprised to see this battle erupt after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade she charges this new legal challenge deliberately creates chaos the FDA went through an approval process and has continued to monitor the safety and efficacy of the drugs so the idea that 20 plus years later suddenly this drug isn't safe enough to be on the market is obviously ludicrous this is yet another attempt by folks who are anti-choice to make it impossible for people to access safe abortion care in this country I think the Supreme Court punted you know it's disappointing I think there was enough evidence to show that the FDA did not follow the normal procedures and protocol Marie tazies with New Jersey right to life which seeks to end abortions she argues the FDA should never have approved mifa per Stone women's lives and health are being put at risk because of their lack of oversight and also giving into Political pressure meanwhile Planned Parenthood fears that even though New Jersey is an abortion Sanctuary State a final Court decision to ban mifipristone would affect clinics Across the Nation they're already preparing a new medical abortion protocol without mifa pristone as for now there's a ton of confusion around the country and in New Jersey we have patients who just because of the news right thought that medication abortion was already illegal the show chilling effect that it has around the country in in states where abortion is either banned or heavily restricted I can't even imagine this is a medication that's used for miscarriage management it's something that's used for endocrine disorder something entirely unrelated to pregnancy so losing this medicine not only impacts abortion care which is important but all these other types of Care Dr Brandy's with Physicians for Reproductive Health which filed an amicus brief in the Texas lawsuit the case now heads back to the fifth circuit with hearings scheduled for mid-may and appeals expected to last months I'm Brenda Flanagan NJ Spotlight news [Music]