Supreme Court Halts Lower Court Ruling Blocking Mail Delivery of Abortion Pill
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The justices put on hold a lower court ruling that had blocked the Food and Drug Administration’s 2023 decision to allow mifepristone, a key ingredient in the abortion pill, to be delivered by post. The stay will last while the case continues to develop in the lower courts.
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PBS NewsHourSupreme Court preserves access to widely used abortion pill, while lawsuit plays out The court's order allows women seeking abortions to continue obtaining the drug, mifepristone, at pharmacies or through the mail, without an in-person visit to a doctor. Access is likely to remain uninterrupted at least until into next year as the case plays out, including a potential appeal to the high court.
ABC NewsThe decision keeps on hold lower court order that would have restricted access. The Supreme Court on Thursday preserved broad access to the abortion pill mifepristone without an in-person doctor visit, keeping on hold a lower court order that would have restricted the drug's availability as litigation over FDA safety regulations continues. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
New York TimesSupreme Court Allows Abortion Pill Access by Mail to Continue A federal appeals court ruling against the Food and Drug Administration would have restricted access by mail to mifepristone.
Associated PressThe justices granted emergency requests from makers of mifepristone, who are appealing a federal appeals court ruling that would require women to see a doctor in person and halt delivery of mifepristone through the mail. The federal Food and Drug Administration, which first approved mifepristone for use in abortion in 2000, stopped requiring in-person visits five years ago.
The FederalistOnline abortion pill sellers can continue illegally trafficking mifepristone into pro-life states until litigation over a landmark abortion drug lawsuit out of Louisiana is resolved, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday. The high bench’s grant of mifepristone manufacturers’ emergency appeal endangers women and babies who are not required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to receive in-person medical care before or after obtaining abortion pills.
NBC NewsThe underlying case involves Louisiana’s challenge to the decision made by the Food and Drug Administration during the Biden administration that allows mifepristone to be administered without an in-person appointment, allowing access to the drug even in states where abortion is banned.
NPR NewsToday's top stories The Supreme Court upheld access to the abortion pill mifepristone yesterday. The high court's order means that the medication will remain available via telehealth while Louisiana's case against the Food and Drug Administration moves through the lower courts. The Supreme Court stayed a May 1 ruling from the New Orleans-based U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals would have banned access to mifepristone by mail. The court ruling would have impacted the whole country.
VoxA common abortion drug survived a second brush with the Supreme Court, leaving it accessible while justices decide its fate in a future ruling. The Court issued a brief order Thursday evening, which indefinitely blocks a lower court order targeting the drug mifepristone.
The InterceptThe Thursday ruling allows providers to continue to send mifepristone through the mail or to retail pharmacies, while the case plays out in the lower courts. Earlier this month, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had reinstated previous FDA requirements that mifepristone be dispensed in person, threatening telehealth access, a critical lifeline for abortion access for people in states with and without abortion bans.
USA TodayAt the request of drugmakers, the court paused a ruling that the drug must be prescribed and dispensed in person by a doctor. That decision − made over the objections of Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito − keeps the Food and Drug Administration's rules for mifepristone in place as Louisiana challenges expanded access to the drug through telemedicine.
The Guardian USThis case, Louisiana v FDA, argues that because mifepristone may be mailed to anyone in the state, the practice circumvents its abortion ban. The state claimed the 2023 decision by FDA was not based on science, which would violate the Administrative Procedure Act. Louisiana also argues that the FDA rules violate the Comstock Act, an obscure anti-obscenity law from 1873.
Washington ExaminerIn a 2024 case, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the FDA’s rule allowing mifepristone to be prescribed online and shipped nationwide, ruling that the group that sued over the rule, the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, did not have proper standing to file the legal challenge. The high court could take up the Louisiana case, which it ruled on in an emergency stance Thursday, on the merits in the future.
New York PostSupreme Court preserves access to widely used abortion pill, while lawsuit plays out
The Daily WireThe U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday allowed mail orders of the abortion drug mifepristone to continue, handing a major defeat for the pro-life movement while litigation over the pill continues.
Fox NewsThe Supreme Court on Thursday extended its administrative stay blocking enforcement of a lower court ruling that would have restricted access to the abortion pill mifepristone, allowing telehealth prescribing and mail distribution of the drug to continue while the legal battle wages on.
The HillSupreme Court preserves abortion pill access over Alito, Thomas dissents Abortion pills can remain available through the mail for the immediate future after the Supreme Court on Thursday paused a lower court ruling that would have blocked access while a lawsuit proceeds.  The justices halted a May 1 order from the conservative U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit that reinstated a requirement that women must visit a…
BBC NewsThe Supreme Court has ruled that the abortion pill mifepristone can continue to be accessed by mail.
National ReviewTrump’s Conflicted Views Are Complicating Abortion Policy The Supreme Court’s abortion-pill decision comes at a tense time between the president and pro-life advocates.
ReutersUS Supreme Court lets abortion pill mail delivery continue - Reuters US Supreme Court lets abortion pill mail delivery continue Reuters
BreitbartSupreme Court Allows Biden’s Mail-Order Abortion Scheme to Continue During Litigation The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the Biden administration's mail-order abortion scheme to continue as litigation plays out in lower courts. The post Supreme Court Allows Biden’s Mail-Order Abortion Scheme to Continue During Litigation appeared first on Breitbart.
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“Applicants are not entitled to a stay of an adverse court order based on lost profits from their criminal enterprise,” Thomas continued. “They cannot, in any legally relevant sense, be irreparably harmed by a court order that makes it more difficult for them to commit crimes.”
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The Daily Wire“Applicants are not entitled to a stay of an adverse court order based on lost profits from their criminal enterprise,” he concluded. “They cannot, in any legally relevant sense, be irreparably harmed by a court order that makes it more difficult for them to commit crimes.”
Washington Examiner“Applicants are not entitled to a stay of an adverse court order based on lost profits from their criminal enterprise. They cannot, in any legally relevant sense, be irreparably harmed by a court order that makes it more difficult for them to commit crimes. And, whereas it would ‘serve the public interest’ to ‘reduc[e]’ applicants’ ‘opportunity to commit crimes,’ a stay would have the opposite effect. I respectfully dissent,” Thomas added.
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Murrill, assisted by the conservative legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom, argues that the FDA’s removal of the in-person requirement harmed Louisiana, along with the 12 other states that have prohibited elective abortions following the overturning of Roe.
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The Federalist“We are disappointed by this decision that allows the FDA and the abortion industry to continue nullifying Dobbs and its promise to return the issue of abortion to the people,” Alliance Defending Freedom Counsel Erin Hawley said in statement. “It’s high time the Biden FDA be held accountable for the destruction it has caused with this high-risk drug. Together with Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill’s office, we look forward to litigating our appeal at the 5th Circuit to protect mothers and their children.”
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Lower courts concluded that Louisiana is likely to prevail, and a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that mail access and telehealth visits should be suspended while the case plays out.
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New York PostLower courts concluded that Louisiana is likely to prevail, and a three-judge panel of the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that mail access and telehealth visits should be suspended while the case plays out.
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Despite those determinations, anti-abortion groups have filed a series of petitions and lawsuits against the agency, generally alleging that it violated federal law by overlooking safety issues with the pill.
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Associated PressDespite those determinations, anti-abortion groups have filed a series of petitions and lawsuits against the agency, generally alleging that it violated federal law by overlooking safety issues with the pill.
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But before the Supreme Court, the Trump administration was strikingly silent about the case, failing to file a brief even though the FDA was the named defendant.
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NBC NewsIn an unusual move, the Trump administration did not file a brief at the Supreme Court even though the FDA is technically a defendant in the case.
Associated PressTrump’s administration has been unusually quiet at the Supreme Court. It declined to file a written brief recommending what the court should do, even though federal regulations are at issue.
New York PostTrump’s administration has been unusually quiet at the Supreme Court. It declined to file a written brief recommending what the court should do, even though federal regulations are at issue.
NPR NewsFDA is MIA One twist in this story is the FDA, the named defendant in the lawsuit, filed no brief to the justices about this case.
The Guardian USFormer FDA leaders, researchers and lobbyists submitted amicus briefs in the case, but the US government did not respond to the lawsuit against its own agency – an unusual move.
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“Every abortion facilitated by FDA’s action cancels Louisiana’s ban,” the federal appeals court wrote, emphasizing that such harm cannot be undone.
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BBC News"Every abortion facilitated by FDA's action cancels Louisiana's ban on medical abortions and undermines its policy that 'every unborn child is human being from the moment of conception and is, therefore, a legal person," the appeals court wrote in that order.
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Thursday's decision came in the form of order from the court issued around 5:30 p.m., about 30 minutes past a deadline the court set for itself.
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The Guardian USThe decision came nearly a half hour after the court missed its own 5pm EST deadline.
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Danco Laboratories, which makes Mifeprex, the brand-name version of mifepristone, said the impact of that decision was "direct, immediate, and chaotic."
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NBC NewsDanco makes Mifeprex, the brand-name version of mifepristone, while GenBioPro makes the generic version.
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The companies argued that Louisiana did not have standing, citing the Supreme Court’s 2024 decision that rejected a similar challenge to the FDA’s approvals of mifepristone on the grounds that the plaintiffs could not show they had suffered any injury.
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USA TodayIn that case, the court said the doctors couldn’t sue because they hadn’t shown they were sufficiently harmed by the FDA’s loosening of the regulations for mifepristone in 2023.
12 details only one outlet reported
Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 The Intercept “We’re breathing a sigh of relief. I would say that the immediate threat to mifepristone is over,” said Claire Teylouni, interim co-executive director of Reproductive Equity Now, “But it’s certainly clear from reading those dissents that the threat … is far from over.”
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02 The Federalist Even more at stake than the sovereignty of states like Louisiana are the babies and women who are at risk of harm and abuse linked to abortion drugs sent by mail.
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03 NPR News President Trump is returning to the U.S. after a two-day state visit to China. The president said that China would buy soybeans and Boeing aircraft, but nothing has been seen in writing yet. As Trump celebrated the announcement of the deal, he didn't sound completely solid, NPR's Tamara Keith tells Up First. China has made purchase promises before only for them to fall short. A year ago, a destructive trade war raged between the two countries. Last fall, Trump and China's President Xi Jinping reached a truce. Keith says the bigger picture now is that this visit further strengthens that agreement. Trump also said he and Xi discussed the Middle East, and agreed that the Strait of Hormuz should remain open and Iran should never have a nuclear weapon.
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04 New York Post Access is likely to remain uninterrupted at least until into next year as the case plays out, including a potential appeal to the high court.
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05 BBC News The ruling, which is called a stay, issued on Thursday was part of the court's emergency docket and came with no reasoning attached. It will remain in place until the justices decide whether to hear the manufacturers' case.
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06 NBC News 01:36 DOJ tells federal judge not to revive mifepristone abortion pill case 02:24 RFK Jr. says he will back Trump’s abortion positions
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07 Washington Examiner The 5th Circuit opinion, authored by Trump-appointed Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan, agreed with Louisiana’s claim that the state is “suffering irreparable harm” because the ability to obtain online abortion pills effectively nullifies state law prohibiting elective abortion.
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08 Washington Times Under President Trump, the FDA has now said it flubbed that 2023 approval and is rethinking the matter.
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09 The Guardian US Years of research have shown that abortion medications are safe and effective. The recent legal challenges, following the Dobbs decision that upended nationwide access to abortion, have been based on politics rather than evidence, experts say.
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10 Associated Press Mulvihill reported from Haddonfield, N.J. Follow the AP’s coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court.
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11 USA Today In an unprecedented move, the conservative 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on May 1 ordered the agency to change its rules for an approved medication in response to Louisiana's lawsuit.
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12 The Daily Wire Louisiana challenged the Biden-era policy under the Administrative Procedure Act, arguing the FDA relied on flawed or nonexistent data while eliminating safety protocols.
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