WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is temporarily preserving access to a widely used abortion pill as it weighs whether to allow new restrictions on the drug, mifepristone, to take effect.
An order issued Monday by Justice Samuel Alito keeps existing access in place until at least Thursday, allowing the pill to continue to be obtained at pharmacies or by mail without an in‑person doctor visit. The order blocks, for now, restrictions imposed by a federal appeals court.
The case represents the court’s latest involvement in the abortion debate, four years after its conservative majority overturned Roe v. Wade, a decision that enabled more than a dozen states to effectively ban abortion.
