Earlier this month the United States Supreme Court unanimously struck down an effort to block access to mifepristone, a medication used for medical abortions.

Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, a group of doctors against abortion, challenged the Food and Drug Administration’s regulation of the drug, but the court said the group’s challenge lacked legal standing.

Mifepristone is one of two medications women take for medical abortions and miscarriage management.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has estimated the number of medical abortions to be well over a million in the last 10 years, many using mifepristone.

Rep. Maureen Bauer, D-South Bend, said in a statement that the Supreme Court ruling is “a step in the right direction.”

“Abortion is health care. Any future challenge to restrict access to mifepristone should be rejected, and the decision should remain between the patient and doctor,” Bauer said.

Reproductive rights advocates say banning the drug would negatively impact women who experience miscarriages. Using mifepristone with misoprostol helps manage the process more effectively than using misoprostol alone, which can prolong the physical and emotional pain for months, they say.

The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine and other anti-abortion groups say the FDA’s approval of the drug was improper and should be reversed.