Nationwide mail access to the abortion medication mifepristone was reestablished by the Supreme Court Monday.
Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. suspended last week's lower-court ruling that had barred telehealth prescriptions of the pills. Alito's one-sentence order holds off the Court of Appeals ruling until at least May 11. He asked for briefs to be filed by Thursday, and for the full Supreme Court to decide how to proceed.
Louisiana sued the Food and Drug Administration to curb access to mifepristone, saying mail-order availability has enabled abortions to take place in the state despite its virtually complete prohibition.
Medication is now used in close to two-thirds of abortions across the country, customarily in a two-drug regimen (with misoprostol) during the first three months of pregnancy.
Friday's ruling from the conservative U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit restored an FDA mandate that patients see health care providers in person to get mifepristone. That regulation was first erased five years ago.
Two mifepristone manufacturers, Danco Laboratories and GenBioPro, over the weekend requested that the Supreme Court step in. The drug makers argued in court filings that the lower court ruling would cause chaos for providers and patients — and disrupt a major source of abortion nationwide. Some 25% of abortions in the country are now provided via telehealth.
After the Supreme Court overturned Roe V. Wade in 2022, Red states like Louisiana enacted strict abortion bans. Several blue states passed laws protecting telemedicine providers who send abortion pills to patients in states barring the procedure.
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