Supreme Court upholds mail access to abortion pill mifepristone for now
Summary
The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed patients to keep getting the abortion pill mifepristone through the mail for now, blocking a lower court decision that required in-person dispensing. This ruling means people nationwide can continue using telehealth to get the drug while court battles over FDA rules continue.Key Facts
- The Supreme Court issued an unsigned order to maintain mail access to mifepristone temporarily.
- A lower court had blocked abortion providers from prescribing mifepristone via telehealth and shipping it to patients.
- Justices Alito and Thomas disagreed with the Supreme Court’s decision.
- Louisiana filed a lawsuit arguing the FDA’s relaxed rules let out-of-state providers bypass the state’s abortion ban.
- Mifepristone is used with another drug, misoprostol, to end early pregnancies and accounted for 65% of clinic-provided abortions in 2023.
- The FDA allowed mail delivery of mifepristone after suspending the in-person rule during the COVID-19 pandemic and formally approved it in 2023.
- Louisiana made mifepristone and misoprostol controlled substances and criminalized possession without prescription in 2024.
- The Biden administration supports broader access, while Louisiana officials are working to restrict it due to state abortion laws.
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