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How the mifepristone case before SCOTUS could affect abortion in Pennsylvania • Pennsylvania Capital-Star

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How the mifepristone case before SCOTUS could affect abortion in Pennsylvania • Pennsylvania Capital-Star


The U.S. Supreme Court is weighing a case that could put limits on access to mifepristone, a drug used in medication abortions.

Pennsylvania is widely considered a “safe” state for reproductive rights: Abortion is legal up to 24 weeks, and Gov. Josh Shapiro was among 21 governors who urged the U.S. Supreme Court in an amicus brief to rule in favor of access to mifepristone. 

“I believe in women’s freedom to choose – and as long as I’m Governor, I will always defend freedom in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said in a statement in January. 

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Medication abortion includes mifepristone as the first drug and misoprostol as the second. The two-drug regimen accounted for about 63% of abortions within the United States in 2023, according to a March report from the Guttmacher Institute.

And according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, medication abortions accounted for more than half of all abortions performed in the state in 2022, the most recent year for which data was available. 

The case

Alliance Defending Freedom filed a lawsuit in November 2022, challenging the original approval of the abortion pill in 2000 as well as the changes to when and how the drug could be used that were made in 2016 and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American College of Pediatricians and the Christian Medical & Dental Associations as well as four doctors from California, Indiana, Michigan and Texas.

The case before SCOTUS, Food and Drug Administration (FDA)  v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (AHM), seeks to revert the use of mifepristone back to what was in place before the FDA began making changes in 2016, and would potentially restrict mifepristone from being sent to patients through the mail.

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US Supreme Court to decide fate of medication abortion access nationwide 

Michael Gibson, director of communications for Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania, called the case “politically motivated and not in the interest of patients or providers.” He added that the case could have potential consequences for patient access to other FDA-approved medications.   

“The Mifepristone case is a baseless lawsuit, and has been instigated and funded by anti-abortion extremists to further their agenda to eliminate abortion, birth control, and other sexual and reproductive health care nationwide,” Gibson said. “Mifepristone is a safe and common drug used in medication abortions for more than 20 years, and the FDA’s authority over medication approvals should never have been challenged. “

Justices seemed skeptical

During oral arguments in March, several of the Supreme Court justices seemed to question the premise of the original lawsuit, that anti-abortion doctors would be potentially harmed by having to treat patients suffering complications from using mifepristone.

“I’m worried that there is a significant mismatch in this case between the claimed injury and the remedy that’s being sought,”Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, appointed by President Joe Biden, said. “The obvious, common-sense remedy would be to provide them with an exemption that they don’t have to participate in this procedure.”

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But, Jackson noted, the anti-abortion doctors were seeking changes in access to mifepristone for everyone in the country.

“And I guess I’m just trying to understand how they could possibly be entitled to that, given the injury that they have alleged,” Jackson said.

Erin Morrow Hawley argued on behalf of Alliance Defending Freedom and the anti-abortion doctors that conscience protections don’t go far enough.

“These are emergency situations,” Hawley said. “Respondent doctors don’t necessarily know until they scrub into that operating room whether this may or may not be abortion drug harm — it could be a miscarriage, it could be an ectopic pregnancy, or it could be an elective abortion.”

U.S. Supreme Court justices seem skeptical of limits on access to abortion medication

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The justices’ questions would seem to indicate things may not tilt in favor of the AHM. 

“The oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in FDA v Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine revealed that most of the justices are skeptical of AHM’s standing to bring the litigation, so all signs are pointing to a ruling that will not change anything about the availability of mifepristone in Pennsylvania,” Susan J. Frietsche, Co-Executive Director of Women’s Law Project told the Capital-Star. 

If SCOTUS’ decision rolled back to the pre-2016 restrictions, mifepristone could only be administered by a doctor, not another medical practitioner. Under Pennsylvania state law, Frietsche noted, only doctors can provide abortion care, so reverting to that provision wouldn’t affect patients here. 

She added that it was unclear how the old restrictions would be enforced, however, “so it is difficult to predict whether access to mifepristone would be restricted immediately or more slowly should the Court rule against the FDA.”

The court is expected to issue its ruling in the case this summer.

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Pennsylvania man arrested for allegedly feeding pet parakeet marijuana and beer

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Pennsylvania man arrested for allegedly feeding pet parakeet marijuana and beer


A Pennsylvania man was arrested on animal cruelty charges for allegedly feeding marijuana and beer to his pet parakeet after bringing the injured feathered friend to a bar, according to reports.

Timothy Grace, 40, was busted on Feb. 21 after carrying his wounded pet budgie named “Blue Skies” in his pocket to Callaghan’s Bar in Greensburg, according to CBS Pittsburgh.

Timothy Grace was arrested on animal cruelty charges for allegedly feeding marijuana and beer to his pet parakeet after bringing the injured feathered friend to a bar. WTAE

“The caller’s a bartender. She says there is a white male at the bar with a parakeet,” a dispatcher reported on the police radio transmissions obtained by the outlet.

“The patron was bragging to other people that were inside the bar that he feeds the parakeet marijuana and has it drink beer on a daily basis,” Detective Sergeant Justin Scalzo told the outlet.

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Grace “appeared extremely intoxicated” when police showed up to the bar and found the pet bird in distress, according to court documents obtained by the outlet.

“Its leg appeared to be broken,” Scalzo said, according to WTAE. “Its foot was actually facing the wrong direction.”

Grave was initially arrested for public intoxication and now faces charges including aggravated cruelty to animals and transporting animals in a cruel manner, the outlet said.

The pet bird was brought to PEARL Parrot Rescue in the Pittsburgh area, which rushed him to an emergency care facility.


Exterior of Callaghan's bar, with a sign showing
The injured parakeet is still breathing hard, remains on antibiotics, and has to wear a splint on his right leg. WTAE

Blue Skies spent four days in the hospital and was later taken in to be fostered by Teri Grendzinski, the president of PEARL. The injured parakeet is still breathing hard, remains on antibiotics, and has to wear a splint on his right leg, CBS reported.

“They realized his leg was broken. He also had some respiratory issues going on,” Grendzinski told the outlet. “He was also very, very skinny.”

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“The leg was broken badly enough there is a chance they’re going to have to amputate the leg if it doesn’t heal correctly,” she added.

If Blue Skies is eventually put up for adoption, he will require specialized care, the outlet said.

“When we got that call, it was horrifying. Why would you do that to a bird?” Grendzinski said.



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Pa. man found guilty of raping teen girl who he took to Mexico

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Pa. man found guilty of raping teen girl who he took to Mexico


A Pennsylvania man was found guilty of repeatedly raping his daughter’s best friend over a three-year span before fleeing with the teen to Mexico.

On Thursday, March 5, 2026, Kevin Esterly, 53, of Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania, was convicted on all counts of rape, statutory sexual assault, involuntary sexual intercourse and endangering the welfare of children.

Esterly shook his head as the verdict was read but said nothing in the courtroom.

Resources for victims of sexual assault are available through the National Sexual Violence Resources Center and the National Sexual Assault Telephone Hotline at 800-656-4673.

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Esterly’s trial began on Tuesday, March 3, after a judge denied his pretrial motion for the charges against him to be dismissed and for the Lehigh County District Attorney to be removed as a prosecutor in the case.

Both Esterly and his victim testified on Wednesday, March 4.

The victim — who is now 24-years-old — told the courtroom that she met Esterly and his family while attending church as a child and became best friends with one of his daughters. Esterly was a youth leader and elder at the church at the time. The victim said Esterly also coached her soccer team.

The victim said she became so close to Esterly’s family that she called his wife “mom” and eventually spent almost every weekend at their home in Lowhill Township, Pennsylvania. She also said she vacationed with them in New York state and Ocean City, Maryland.

The victim said Esterly first sexually assaulted her in August 2015 when she was 13-years-old after he gave her alcohol during a family birthday party.

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“I was scared. Frozen in fear,” the woman told the courtroom on Wednesday. “I pretended I was sleeping.”

The woman accused Esterly of sexually assaulting her almost every time she slept over at his home. She told the courtroom she eventually became addicted to alcohol and drugs, which Esterly gave her in exchange for sex. According to the woman, Esterly gave her cocaine and methamphetamine to keep her awake during school because she “would be up with him all night.”

The woman said Esterly continued to sexually assault her until he was confronted by his wife in 2017. Esterly’s wife then threw him out of the house, according to the victim. She said Esterly continued to sexually assault her over the next year.

Esterly was later arrested and then sentenced to prison after federal agents found him with the victim in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, in 2018. She was 16-years-old at the time.

The woman said she moved on and went to college after Esterly’s sentencing though she still struggled with drug addiction. She said she sought counseling in February 2025. She told the courtroom she received a message from Esterly on LinkedIn that same month in which he apologized for “failing you as a person I was supposed to be for you.” At that point Esterly had been released from prison.

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The woman said she had not told anyone about her relationship with Esterly up to that point and replied to him, “I live with our secret every day as I promised. I would appreciate an apology.”

The woman told the courtroom that Esterly responded by writing, “I hope one day you can forgive me. Nobody knows I reached out to you. That is the best for both of us.”

On Feb. 21, 2025, Allentown Police received a report of Esterly’s sexual assaults which led to the new charges being filed against him. He was arrested in West Virginia in June 2025 after two police pursuits. He was then extradited to Pennsylvania.

The victim told the courtroom on Wednesday that she kept quiet about Esterly’s abuse for years because she “was afraid to speak,” and felt “dirty and ashamed.”

“I wasn’t ready to tell anyone,” she said. “He was a father figure in my life. I loved him.”

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The woman also said she didn’t want to hurt Esterly’s daughter who was her best friend.

When the District Attorney asked her why she was “here today,” she replied by saying, “I want to tell the truth. I want to be set free.”

The woman ended her testimony by saying, “I don’t want to live with this secret anymore.”

After her testimony, Esterly took the stand for 45 minutes, denied all of the accusations against him and accused the woman of lying.

Closing arguments then took place Thursday morning. It then took an hour for the jury of seven women and five men to reach their verdict.

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3 dead in apparent murder-suicide spanning from Pennsylvania to Illinois, police say

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3 dead in apparent murder-suicide spanning from Pennsylvania to Illinois, police say



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Two women are dead in Pennsylvania and a man is dead in Illinois after an apparent murder-suicide, police said on Wednesday.

According to a report from the Pennsylvania State Police, the investigation began in Hillside, Illinois, when police there were dispatched after a man reported two women dead in Jackson Township, Pennsylvania. Police said that when officers got to Hillside, about 15 miles west of Chicago, they found that the man had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

After identifying him, troopers said Hillside officers contacted police from Jackson Township to request a welfare check at the man’s home on Dior Drive, about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh. 

Map shows distance from Hillside, Illinois, to Zelienople, Pennsylvania

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KDKA


Police said officers used forced entry to get into the home and found two women dead from apparent gunshot wounds. It’s believed the two women were family members of the man who died by suicide in Illinois, investigators said. 

Pennsylvania State Police said they’ve assumed control of the case and are “actively investigating” what happened surrounding the three deaths.

Police didn’t release any names, saying the process of formal identification and notification of next of kin hasn’t been completed. Sources told KDKA that the victims were a husband, wife and their daughter.

“At this time, investigators believe there is no ongoing threat to the public, and law enforcement is not searching for any additional individuals in connection with this incident,” police wrote in the public information release report. “This remains an active and ongoing investigation.”

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State police didn’t release any other details on Wednesday but said more information will be made public when it’s available.  

“My first reaction was shocked because this is such a close-knit neighborhood, and to think something that horrible could happen here is very tragic because they were such a good family,” neighbor Danielle Sporer said on Wednesday. 



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