Supreme Retractions
Anti-abortion activists get two papers into Supreme Court arguments, despite obvious problems and them having been retracted
Earlier this week, the US Supreme Court heard arguments in a case seeking to limit access to a key medication (mifepristone) used in more than 60% of abortions in the US. To make their arguments, the anti-abortion doctors bringing the case have argued that the FDA ignored safety concerns when it eased restrictions on the use of mifepristone.
- The Court seems skeptical the doctors have sufficient standing to even bring the case.
In their arguments, the anti-abortion doctors have relied heavily on two studies that claimed the abortion pill was unsafe. US District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk cited the studies in his April 2023 ruling, which is now on appeal before the Supreme Court.
However, SAGE retracted them last month due to methodological and ethical concerns. These retractions were reported at the time by Retraction Watch.
Three studies with the same lead author — James Studnicki — were retracted, in fact — two of these were cited in the Texas ruling.
Studnicki is the Vice President and Director of Data Analytics at the Charlotte Lozier Institute, an anti-abortion think tank. Named after a female physician who died from complications of child birth, it is affiliated with Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, a non-profit that seeks to reduce and ultimately end abortion in the US.
When you visit the site for the Lozier Institute, you encounter this splash screen, which is redolent of the false “free speech” politics of the right-wing fringe, which appears to be up in response to the recent retractions: