mifepristone via – The Supreme Court stayed a ruling that would have restricted mailing of mifepristone, allowing telehealth access while Louisiana’s case continues.
The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered that medication abortion access remains unchanged, keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available through telehealth as a federal fight with sweeping consequences continues.
In an order issued at about 5:30 p.m.. roughly 30 minutes after a self-imposed deadline. the justices stayed a May 1 decision from the U.S.. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals based in New Orleans.. That appeals court ruling would have barred mifepristone from being mailed nationwide. not only in states such as Louisiana where abortion bans are in place.
Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented.. In his written dissent. Alito criticized the court’s action as “unreasoned” and “remarkable. ” arguing that the order effectively facilitates “a scheme to undermine our decision in Dobbs. ” a reference to the majority opinion he authored in 2022 that overturned Roe v.. Wade.. Alito said Dobbs “restored the right of each State to decide how to regulate abortions within its borders.”
The litigation stems from Louisiana’s challenge to the Food and Drug Administration’s authorization of mifepristone. The Supreme Court’s stay means the status quo holds while the case proceeds through the lower courts.
Mifepristone is used with another medication, misoprostol, for medication abortion.. Under telehealth procedures, a patient connects with a healthcare provider by phone or online.. If the patient is eligible, the provider can prescribe both drugs.. Patients may obtain the medications at a local pharmacy, or providers may mail the drugs to a patient’s home.
Medication abortion has become the dominant method for abortions in the United States since the Dobbs decision. with researchers reporting that most abortions use the mifepristone-and-misoprostol combination and that one quarter occur via telemedicine.. Advocates have pointed to that access as a factor behind an increase in the national number of abortions since 2022.
After the 5th Circuit’s May 1 ruling. some providers said they would continue offering telemedicine access using a different protocol that involves higher doses of misoprostol and no mifepristone.. Researchers say the alternative approach is just as safe and effective. but it tends to cause more side effects for patients. including nausea and diarrhea.
The court also faced political and institutional arguments over federal authority.. Nearly two dozen Democratic-led states urged the justices in an amicus brief to reject the 5th Circuit approach. arguing that the appeals court placed the policy preferences of states with abortion bans over the choices of states that have made different. but equally sovereign. determinations to promote access to abortion care.. A similar number of Republican-led states filed an amicus brief supporting Louisiana.
Several briefs raised broader questions about the FDA’s role and expert agency power.. A group of former FDA leaders. served under mainly Democratic and some Republican administrations. argued in an amicus brief that the FDA’s approval and rule modifications reflected its “gold-standard” science-based process.. They said the appeals court decision would “upend FDA’s gold-standard, science-based drug approval system.”
The drug industry’s trade association, PhRMA, also asked the Supreme Court not to interfere with the FDA’s mifepristone framework. Its amicus brief argued that drug makers have a “significant interest” in preserving the stable, predictable statutory scheme Congress created for FDA regulation.
One notable detail in the case: the FDA, the named defendant, filed no brief to the justices.
The dispute comes against the backdrop of a White House and FDA leadership shake-up.. This week, FDA Commissioner Dr.. Marty Makary resigned under pressure from the White House.. It was not immediately clear whether the lawsuit contributed to his departure. though anti-abortion rights groups criticized what they described as limited action to restrict abortion while he led the agency.
Mary Ziegler. a law professor at the University of California Davis. told NPR that the Trump administration’s handling of the issue had reflected an effort to defer a definitive abortion policy decision until after the midterm election. to avoid angering base supporters or swing voters.. She said the administration’s lack of engagement through the case was consistent with political caution seen so far.
mifepristone telehealth Supreme Court abortion pill Louisiana FDA lawsuit 5th Circuit ruling Dobbs decision
so they just mailing pills now lol ok
Wait I thought the supreme court already banned this back in 2022 so why is it still happening?? I swear I read that it was done and over with after that Dobbs thing. This is so confusing nobody explains anything anymore.
Alito wrote that whole Dobbs thing and now hes mad they went around it which honestly makes sense if you think about it because if states are supposed to decide then why is the federal government just mailing pills to wherever they want and nobody stops them. Like Louisiana said no and they just ignored it. I dont even know who makes the rules anymore because it changes every week and the news never actually explains what any of this means for regular people just a bunch of legal words and then everyone argues online and nothing changes anyway so whats even the point of following it.
Telehealth is actually really important for people in rural areas who cant just drive two hours to see a doctor so im glad this stayed but I also feel like this whole thing is gonna keep going back and forth forever and nobody in my town even knows what the current law is at any given moment which is a real problem honestly.