US Supreme Court Temporarily Allows Abortion Pills to Be Sent by Mail Again
Al Jazeera
The U.S. Supreme Court temporarily allowed mifepristone abortion pills to be prescribed via telemedicine and sent by mail, blocking a prior appeals court ruling that restricted access. The order gives justices time to consider an emergency petition from drug manufacturers, while the lawsuit over the FDA's 2023 rule continues.
The U.S. Supreme Court on April 21 issued a temporary order allowing the abortion drug mifepristone to be prescribed via telemedicine and delivered by mail, effectively overturning a previous appellate court decision that had limited access to the medication.
Justice Samuel Alito, who handles emergency matters for a group of states including Louisiana, issued a one-week stay on the ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. That court had previously reinstated older regulations requiring patients to visit a doctor in person to receive mifepristone.
The administrative order from the Supreme Court gives justices more time to consider an emergency petition from two manufacturers of mifepristone, asking that the drug remain available through telemedicine and mail delivery while the lawsuit continues. Alito ordered Louisiana to respond to the manufacturers' petition by April 24, with the stay set to expire on May 11. The court is expected to either extend the order or issue a definitive ruling before that date.
The legal battle began when Louisiana, led by the Republican Party, sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last year, arguing that a regulation enacted under Democratic President Joe Biden—which removed the requirement for in-person dispensing—was unlawful and weakened the state's abortion ban. Drug manufacturers Danco Laboratories and GenBioPro, which produces a generic version, intervened to defend the 2023 regulation. The administration of Republican President Donald Trump cited ongoing reviews of safety regulations related to mifepristone and opposed the state's lawsuit.
In April, Judge David Joseph in Lafayette, Louisiana, declined to block the rule but agreed to temporarily pause the case pending FDA review. However, the Fifth Circuit ordered a block on the regulation on May 1.
Legal and political battles over access to mifepristone have dominated abortion debates in the United States for several years. In 2024, the Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit by anti-abortion groups and doctors seeking to overturn the FDA's relaxed regulations, ruling that the plaintiffs lacked legal standing. Mifepristone, approved by the FDA in 2000, is typically used in combination with misoprostol for medication abortion—a method now accounting for more than 60% of all abortions in the U.S.
These disputes follow the Supreme Court's 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade (1973), which had legalized abortion nationwide, leading 13 states to enact near-total bans and others to tighten restrictions.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) called the April 21 decision a "positive short-term development." "The Supreme Court must end this baseless attack on our reproductive rights, once and for all," said Julia Kaye, a senior attorney at the ACLU's Reproductive Freedom Project. Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer welcomed the ruling but stressed, "This battle has only just begun." Meanwhile, Republican Senator Josh Hawley called on Congress to completely ban mifepristone in abortions, citing disputed findings about health risks.
