Hi CommonHealth reader,

People on all sides of the abortion debate have their eyes on a federal lawsuit in Texas that could have broad implications for abortion pills across the nation.

But what exactly could it mean for patients, providers and the medical industry in places where abortion remains legal? I wanted a better understanding.

I started by talking to my colleague, Martha Bebinger, who has been monitoring the situation from 1,000 miles away in Massachusetts.

In short, she said the ruling could change the standard practice for medication abortions in Massachusetts, as well as care for patients who experience a miscarriage.

If the judge hearing the case goes as far as some expect, his decision could pull one of two abortion pills off the market. The vast majority of providers use this medication in conjunction with another drug, so the decision could force providers to go with a less effective regimen.

"First, keep in mind that 49% of abortions reported in the state occur using the two pills, mifepristone and misoprostol," Martha explained. "When taken together, they end a pregnancy without the need for surgery in 99% of cases." (The two-drug combo may also be prescribed to help manage a miscarriage.)

"If the federal judge orders the Food and Drug Administration to remove mifepristone from the market, abortion providers say they will switch to misoprostol-only abortions," she continued. "These are effective 93% of the time. The side effects — fever, cramping and bleeding — can be worse with the single pill. And this method typically requires a follow-up appointment with a doctor."

In addition to the direct impact on patient care, I’ve been hearing that the whole court case could have a chilling effect on biotech and drug development. On Point interviewed Amanda Banks, who has worked in the industry for 30 years. She told Meghna Chakrabarti that, right now, the FDA’s process for approving drugs is long and hard but everyone is aware of what it entails.

“It's a very well known, no surprises kind of thing,” Banks said. “It offers an opportunity for stability in what's an incredibly and increasingly high-risk endeavor of developing new medicines.”

But Banks said that if one judge can order a well-studied and safe drug to be removed, it would inject a lot of uncertainty into the system. She worries that could scare investors away from drug development. 

“I think for the industry, the results could be catastrophic. For patients, it stands to be even more so,” Banks said. 

What people think about the potential impacts of this decision varies a lot depending on their views of abortion. As this case unfolds, we will be reporting on what happens in Texas and what the impactions are around the country.

There has been a stream of articles lately on obesity and the new class of drugs that is transforming the treatment landscape. STAT is running a series called "The Obesity Revolution," and one of The New Yorker’s recent articles featured the headline, "Will the Ozempic Era Change How We Think About Being Fat and Being Thin?"

One section of The New Yorker article caught me off guard. The reporter, Jia Tolentino, set out to get an obesity drug herself using telehealth clinics.

 In one attempt, she interacted with a nurse practitioner solely via “direct message laced with cheerful emojis” and then got the injection in the mail. (It was supposed to be temperature-controlled during shipping but was not.)

In another successful attempt, Tolentino questioned how the compounding pharmacy that supplied the injection got the necessary medication, called semaglutide. The issue is that Novo Nordisk has patented the drug and does not sell it for compounding purposes. The answer, she found, is that the compounding pharmacy uses semaglutide sodium (the salt form of the drug molecule) despite the fact that it has not been approved by the FDA for compounding. 

While these articles document the promise and hope of these drugs, they also show there are still a number of risks and unknowns in widespread adoption.

…hair was taken from Ludwig van Beethoven when he was on his deathbed? Now, DNA analysis hints at what might have killed him – and caused great suffering when he was still alive.

😎 Forward to a friend. They can sign up here.

📣 Give us your feedback: newsletters@wbur.org

📧 Get more WBUR stories sent to your inbox. Check out all of our newsletter offerings.