Overview
- The 5th Circuit, in a unanimous ruling Friday, froze the FDA’s 2023 policy that let doctors prescribe mifepristone by telehealth and send it by mail.
- The order restores an in-person dispensing rule in every state and pauses pharmacy and mail delivery while the lawsuit continues.
- The judges said Louisiana is likely to win under the Administrative Procedure Act and pointed to state sovereign harms and extra Medicaid costs tied to complications.
- The panel refused to wait for the FDA’s ongoing review, noting the agency offered no timeline and had relaxed adverse-event reporting before citing thin data to expand access.
- Medication abortions now account for most U.S. abortions and many are obtained via telehealth, so patients face new travel, cost, and delay as an emergency Supreme Court appeal is expected.