U.S. abortion providers relieved but wary as Supreme Court preserves pill access

FILE PHOTO: Pro-abortion demonstrators gather at the State Capitol to mark the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that had established a right to abortion until it was overturned last year, in Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. January 22, 2023. REUTERS/Eric Cox

(Reuters) - Abortion rights supporters expressed relief on Friday after the U.S. Supreme Court preserved access to a widely used abortion pill but warned of a long fight ahead as a legal challenge to the medication continues.

The move by the court to halt new restrictions on the drug set by lower courts was welcome news less than a year after its conservative majority upended U.S. abortion access by overturning the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that had legalized abortion nationwide.