The Supreme Court maintains, for now, the delivery of the abortion pill mifepristone by mail or directly in pharmacies, without the need for medical consultation.
The decision provisionally blocks a ruling last week by an appeals court, following a lawsuit by Republican administrations that seized on the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision that overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed state bans.
The unanimous ruling issued last Friday by a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit of Appeals based in New Orleans requires that the abortion pill be distributed only in person and in clinics, overturning regulations established by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The appeals court decision confirmed the determination of District Judge Kyle Duncan, appointed by President Donald Trump.
“Each abortion facilitated by the FDA’s action nullifies Louisiana’s ban on medical abortions and undermines its policy that ‘every unborn child is a human being from the moment of conception and is therefore a legal person,’” the appeals court ruling states.
The provisional decision of the Supreme Court was authorized by Justice Samuel Alito, while the case is analyzed.
Alexis McGill Johnson, president of the abortion rights group Deliberate Parenthood Circulate Fund, welcomed the decision.
“While access to mifepristone returns to normal as of Friday morning, the uncertainty and chaos that patients and providers are experiencing have already had real consequences on the lives and futures of many people,” he stated in a statement.
New York leads coalition of 22 states to prefer
New York Attorney General Letitia James led a coalition of 21 other states and the District of Columbia to urge the Supreme Court to permanently stay the Court of Appeals decision on the mifepristone pill.
“Forcing patients to obtain mifepristone in person will not make anyone safer or prevent people from needing access to abortion,” stated Attorney General James. “Every unnecessary restriction on access to abortion has a human cost. This cost is paid by the patient, who now must travel hundreds of kilometers; the mother, who cannot find anyone to care for her children; the worker, who cannot afford to lose a day’s salary; and every person whose health is compromised by the delay in medical care.”
The coalition of states presented an ‘amicus curiae’ (“friends of the court”) document with arguments before the Supreme Court, asking it to look at the scientific evidence, adding that following the lower court’s decision would create “regulatory and administrative chaos at the national level” since it would interfere with the ability of states to protect access to reproductive health care.
Mifepristone is a standard medication for terminating a pregnancy of up to 10 weeks. The drug was approved in 2000 by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), since which time an estimated 7.5 million people have used the drug safely.
“Medical abortion currently represents 63% of all abortions in the formal American health system, and approximately one in four abortions is performed through telemedicine,” part of the arguments indicate. “Several studies have consistently shown that mifepristone is safe and effective.”
The FDA deemed in 2023 that the requirement for in-person dispensing of mifepristone was not necessary, allowing providers to offer the drug via telemedicine.
“Attorney General James and the coalition argue that reinstating the in-person dispensing requirement would drastically limit access to mifepristone via telemedicine, forcing patients to resort to more difficult alternatives or travel to receive in-person care,” adds the New York Attorney General’s Office.
The “friends of the court” document was joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and the District of Columbia, as well as the governor of Pennsylvania.
