Supreme Court Restores Abortion Pill Access — For Now
The Supreme Court has temporarily restored mail-order access to the abortion drug mifepristone, after a federal appeals court curtailed access to the drug on Friday.
In a brief order Monday, Justice Samuel Alito put on hold a decision by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals that limited how patients could obtain the pills.
Alito’s order is in effect through May 11, giving all nine justices time to consider requests from the drug’s manufacturers to keep the appeals court’s ruling on ice while the Supreme Court considers whether to take up the issue.
The high court’s move returns to doctors in blue states — for now — the ability to prescribe a drug used in more than two-thirds of abortions, and to send it by mail across state lines. That has become a common way for patients to circumvent state bans on the procedure since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022.
The justices took a similar step when another challenge to federal regulation of the drug came before the court in 2023.
Alito gave the state until May 7 to respond to the emergency appeals from the two companies that make mifepristone, Danco and GenBioPro. He’s likely to refer the request for a longer-term stay to the full court for action.
The Trump administration, which had asked lower courts to hold off on ruling until the FDA conducted an internal review of the drug’s safety, has yet to react to the 5th Circuit decision.
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