In advance of the Supreme Court hearing arguments Tuesday on their first abortion case since overturning Roe v. Wade, a group of activists took to the SF Federal Building Sunday to defend access to the abortion pill mifepristone.

On Tuesday, the US Supreme Court will begin hearing arguments on the first abortion case that’s come before them since they overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022. This case has the name Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v FDA, and it will effectively rule on the legality of the abortion pill mifepristone. Realize that the court’s decision will affect all 50 states, even those with abortion protections written to state law.

KGO reports that abortion rights activists rallied Sunday at the SF Federal Building in support of the abortion pill. "What we're concerned about is that given the Supreme Court's past record, anything is possible," National Mobilization for Reproductive Justice representative Nancy Kato told KGO.

The FDA approved mifepristone in the year 2000. In 2016 and 2021, that agency expanded its legal use to be distributed by mail, for mifepristone to be prescribed by nurses, and for mifepristone to be taken up to 10 weeks into a pregnancy. But a few lower courts have attempted to shoot down some of those rights, hence the current Supreme Court case.

"The lower court of appeals essentially rescinded some power in earlier regulations of the food and drug administration — and the petitioners, the Biden Administration, the FDA and others are arguing that is unconstitutional," Santa Clara University constitutional law expert Margaret Russell told KGO. "It has impact not just on this particular medication but potentially on the power of the Food and Drug Administration in other areas that would be of benefit to the health of women and everyone."

According to NPR, 63% of all abortions are medicated, primarily using mifepristone. And a Supreme Court ruling could affect or even eliminate access to mifepristone, even in states with enshrined abortion protections.  

"I think there's been to some degree a false sense of security created by ballot initiatives [protecting abortion access] in some states," UC Davis law professor Mary Zieglertold said to NPR. "People are thinking, 'What happens in the Supreme Court doesn't really matter because I live in California or I live in Michigan or I live in Ohio' – that, essentially, if you voted for a ballot initiative or you live in a blue state, you don't have to worry about it."

"This is a reminder that what happens in the federal courts can override what voters decide," she told that outlet.

Related: Abortion Rights Activists Plan Rally at SF Federal Building Tuesday [SFist]

Image: SAN FRANCISCO - JANUARY 22: Two women carry a sign during a pro-choice march January 22, 2004 in San Francisco. People all over the United States celebrated the 31st anniversary of the 1973 Roe vs Wade Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)