Since the Supreme Court ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health that abortion decisions should be given to legislatures, reproductive rights have been under attack. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA exemplifies this– in August 2023, the Fifth Circuit ruled that the Federal Drug Administration’s (“FDA”) regulation of mifepristone is arbitrary and capricious, and thus must be returned to pre-2016 regulations. While the Supreme Court has stayed the issue, the Fifth Circuit’s ruling, if effected, would severely limit access to abortion, and is yet another step back for women’s rights.

Part One of this Note describes the history and administrative changes to mifepristone, and how the Fifth Circuit has ruled to regress the drug’s administration. Part Two discusses the plaintiffs’ standing to bring this case as physicians on behalf of their patients and as injured parties themselves. Part Three describes and discusses the arbitrary and capricious standard that was used to rule that the FDA improperly altered the drug’s administration. Part Four contemplates the potential repercussions of this decision, including standing for abortion providers and the use of the arbitrary and capricious standard in the broader reproductive rights context moving forward.

Keep Reading Standing and the Arbitrary and Capricious Standard Pertaining to Reproductive Rights: An Examination of the Fifth Circuit’s Decision in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA