Supreme Court abortion case reminiscent of the ‘Lost Cause still blowing in the political winds’

“This is less about policy and more about pure and simple voting harvesting. Obviously, there is very little support for neonatal care or curbing the death penalty, so ‘pro-life’ is a ridiculous misnomer. They are less pro-life than they are pro-political power — their own … This is the remnants of the Lost Cause still blowing in the political winds.”

– Jefferson Cowie, Vanderbilt Professor of History

The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine’s (AHM) mission statement claims to “uphold and promote” the principle of “providing healthcare with the highest standards of excellence based on medical science.”

In reality, the mission of AHM, which is represented by a designated hate group, is to deny people healthcare, using standards based on junk science.

The Supreme Court this week heard arguments in AHM’s ongoing effort to eliminate the safest and most common method of abortion in the United States by invalidating the FDA’s approval of mifepristone, one of two drugs used in the procedure.

AHM’s initial victory, granted by an extremist federal judge for whom the group explicitly “shopped,” was partially overturned by an appeals court that affirmed the FDA’s initial approval, but invalidated later regulations that expanded access and applications of the medication.

Eliminating or restricting the use of mifepristone would disproportionately harm Black woman, who are nearly three times more likely than White women to die of complications from pregnancy or childbirth – and almost 30 times more likely than women in other wealthy countries. More than 1,200 women died from pregnancy or childbirth in 2021 alone.

Women of color account for six of every 10 people who seek abortions, and 75 percent of those seeking abortion care are living at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. The majority of Black Americans live in states where abortion is either effectively banned or severely restricted. Black women are less likely to have the means or ability to travel to other states. Furthermore, pregnant people of color are more likely to experience miscarriage, for which mifepristone is part of the most effective treatment.

The risk of dying from mifepristone, in contrast, is approximately one death per year since the FDA approved it 24 years ago. The death rate for Viagra is 10 times greater.

“Fundamentally, mifepristone is one of the most safe and effective medications used to provide abortion care or treat early pregnancy loss. Without it, pregnancy will be even more dangerous than it already is,” the American Medical Association and other medical societies wrote in an amicus brief. “Women are at least 14 times more likely to die during childbirth than during any abortion procedure.”

To make the ludicrous case that mifepristone is dangerous, AHM relied on discredited researchers and flawed research. As the ACLU pointed out in its amicus brief, the most cited “expert,” self-admittedly “not a really good researcher” was published by a group that accused President Obama of hypnotizing people with his speeches and argued that HIV does not cause AIDS. Another claimed her expert opinions on mifepristone were based on her experience as an OB-GYN, even though she stopped practicing the year mifepristone was approved.

It’s clear that AMF’s mission has nothing to do with providing health care or upholding science. The powerful extremist Christian nationalist group, Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents AMF, has also sued one Virginia school district for teaching students about racism and another over teacher diversity training. The organization claims anti-racism policies in schools violate students’ constitutional rights.

Moral Majority, which first injected the issue of reproductive rights into right-wing politics, grew out of the fight to keep racially segregated private schools tax-exempt. As its spiritual descendant, AMF remains linked to a White, male supremacist worldview.

Marc H. Morial is the president and Chief Executive Officer of the National Urban League, the nation’s largest civil rights organization.