US Supreme Court Temporarily Restores Access to Abortion Pill
(FILES) Mifepristone (Mifeprex) and Misoprostol, the two drugs used in a medication abortion, are seen at the Women's Reproductive Clinic, which provides legal medication abortion services, in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, on June 17, 2022. The US Supreme Court on May 4, 2026, temporarily lifted a lower court's ban on mail delivery of the widely used abortion drug mifepristone. The court order restores mail access to mifepristone, which is used in the majority of abortions in the United States, until at least May 11. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE
The United States Supreme Court on Monday temporarily restored mail and telehealth access to mifepristone, the widely used abortion drug, halting a lower court order that had banned its delivery nationwide while the justices consider emergency appeals from its manufacturers.
Justice Samuel Alito, who handles emergency applications from the 5th Circuit, issued an administrative stay putting the appeals court’s ruling on hold and temporarily restoring mail access to mifepristone while the justices review the drug companies’ request. The stay expires on May 11 at 5 p.m. EDT, with Louisiana and other respondents required to file responses by May 7.
The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by Louisiana last year against the FDA, after the Trump administration declined to reinstate the in-person dispensing requirement for abortion pills through the regulatory process. A unanimous three-judge 5th Circuit panel sided with Louisiana on Friday, finding the state was likely to succeed on the merits and staying the FDA rule nationwide, pointing to the agency’s own acknowledgment of “procedural deficits” in its review process.
Medication abortions accounted for more than 60 per cent of abortions in the US in 2023, according to Guttmacher Institute research. Mifepristone has been FDA-approved since 2000 and is also widely used in managing early miscarriages.
Danco Laboratories and GenBioPro, the two manufacturers, asked the Supreme Court for emergency relief, warning that the 5th Circuit’s order had “unleashed regulatory chaos.” Danco further argued in its application that Louisiana, like the anti-abortion doctors in the 2024 case, lacked the legal standing to bring the challenge.
An administrative stay is a short-term procedural step, not a ruling on the merits. It signals only that the court wanted time to consider the emergency applications, not that a majority of the justices believe the 5th Circuit was wrong.
Julia Kaye of the American Civil Liberties Union welcomed the development while cautioning that access remained uncertain. “While this is a positive short-term development, no one can rest easy when our ability to get this safe, effective medication for abortion and miscarriage care still hangs in the balance,” she said.
Nancy Northup, president and CEO of the Centre for Reproductive Rights, described telehealth access to abortion pills as “a lifeline for women,” adding that “there is no reason people shouldn’t be able to get mifepristone at a pharmacy or through the mail.”
The anti-abortion Alliance Defending Freedom stressed the Supreme Court move was not a reversal of the 5th Circuit ruling, describing it as only a temporary pause while insisting it would “continue our fight to uphold this victory.”
The Supreme Court reviewed the issue once before in 2024, unanimously rejecting a lawsuit challenging the FDA’s regulation on grounds that the challengers lacked legal standing.