Overview
- Justice Samuel Alito extended an administrative stay Monday to 5 p.m. ET Thursday, keeping mail delivery and telehealth prescribing of mifepristone in place for now.
- The pause leaves on hold a May 1 ruling by a three-judge 5th Circuit panel that would have required patients to obtain mifepristone only after an in-person visit.
- Danco Laboratories and GenBioPro asked the Supreme Court to block the 5th Circuit order, warning it would abruptly cut off access and sow confusion for patients and providers nationwide.
- Louisiana brought the lawsuit that spurred the 5th Circuit action, arguing the FDA’s 2023 policy allowing mail and telehealth access undercuts its near‑total abortion ban and imposes state costs from emergency care.
- Mifepristone, used with misoprostol for most U.S. medication abortions, has become central to remote care, and briefs from Democratic-led states and former FDA leaders back the agency’s science-based process as the FDA conducts a safety review.