Supreme court allows abortion pill mifepristone to continue to be available by mail
Summary
The US Supreme Court allowed people across the country to keep getting the abortion pill mifepristone by mail. This decision blocked a lower court ruling that had banned mailing the drug, but the lawsuit will continue in lower courts.Key Facts
- The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 to keep mail-order mifepristone available nationwide.
- Louisiana sued the FDA, trying to stop mailing mifepristone because of its state abortion ban.
- The fifth circuit court had ruled to ban mailing mifepristone for the whole country before the Supreme Court stepped in.
- Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented, with Thomas calling mailing the drug a “criminal enterprise.”
- Medication abortions make up about two-thirds of US abortions, helped by mail delivery especially where abortion is restricted.
- The FDA removed the in-person prescription requirement for mifepristone in 2023 to allow telehealth access.
- The case challenges FDA rules and involves the 1873 Comstock Act, an old law banning mailing abortion-related items.
- The lawsuit will return to lower courts for a full hearing, as the Supreme Court said Louisiana does not have the right to challenge the mail delivery directly.
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