The supreme court issued a temporary order to restore access to the abortion pill mifepristone by mail on Monday.
This comes after two companies who manufacture mifepristone the drug filed an emergency appeal to the court on Saturday asking it to halt a court decision that would require an in‑person exam before the medication can be prescribed.
The request came hours after the fifth US circuit court of appeals temporarily reinstated the requirement blocking telemedicine health providers from prescribing it to patients by mail in response to a challenge from Louisiana. Officials argue that issuing mifepristone, of the two drugs used for medication abortion, without an in-person visit violates the state’s abortion ban.
In a one-page order by justice Samuel Alito, the court stayed the fifth circuit’s decision until 11 May, giving the court more time to hear both sides before making a decision.
A reminder that most abortions in the US happen via medication, since the 2022 supreme court decision that overturned the constitutional right to an abortion.
In 2024, the supreme court rejected an attempt by anti-abortion medical groups who sought to overturn the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approvals for mifepristone. In a unanimous decision, the justices said that those challenging the approvals did not have legal standing.
