Washington — On Monday, the Supreme Court prolonged a temporary order that continues to allow mail access to the abortion pill mifepristone. This order remains effective for now.
Justice Samuel Alito announced in a concise directive that the administrative stay he issued last week is extended until at least Thursday at 5 p.m. This decision provides the Supreme Court with additional time to deliberate on whether to halt an appellate court’s decision that reinstates a rule by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requiring in-person dispensing of mifepristone.
The two pharmaceutical companies producing the drug, Danco Laboratories and GenBioPro, had previously requested the Supreme Court to overturn the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit’s decision. They aim to ensure that abortion providers can continue prescribing the drug online and distributing it to patients during ongoing legal proceedings. Alito is responsible for handling emergency appeals from the 5th Circuit.
Mifepristone, used in conjunction with another medication, misoprostol, is administered to end early pregnancies. According to the Guttmacher Institute, a research body advocating for abortion rights, this medication was utilized in 65% of all clinician-facilitated abortions in 2023.
Last year, Louisiana officials filed a lawsuit against the FDA concerning its regulation permitting mifepristone to be mailed, posing a threat to restrict pill access for women across the nation, including in states where abortion remains legal. The state contends that the FDA’s policy enables providers to bypass its almost complete abortion ban, resulting in mifepristone being mailed into Louisiana, leading to “thousands” of unlawful abortions each year, as claimed by Louisiana officials.
Previously, a federal district court had put Louisiana’s lawsuit against the FDA on hold last month while the agency continues its safety review of mifepristone. Nevertheless, Louisiana officials appealed this decision, and the 5th Circuit agreed to temporarily suspend the 2023 policy that permits mifepristone to be prescribed remotely and distributed via mail.
“Every abortion facilitated by FDA’s action cancels Louisiana’s ban on medical abortions and undermines its policy that ‘every unborn child is human being from the moment of conception and is, therefore, a legal person,’” the unanimous 5th Circuit panel found.
