Mifepristone maker asks Supreme Court to block ruling restricting mail access
QWER
Danco Laboratories, a mifepristone manufacturer and defendant in a lawsuit, asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Saturday to block the 5th Circuits ruling while appeals are pending.
In the biggest jolt to abortion policy in the U.S. since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, a federal appeals court restricted access to one of the most common ways to end early pregnancies, by blocking the mailing of mifepristone prescriptions.
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The unanimous ruling Friday from the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals marks a substantial victory for abortion opponents seeking to stem the flow of abortion pills prescribed online that they view as subverting state bans on the procedure.
Mifepristone was approved in 2000 as a safe and effective way to end early pregnancies. It is typically used in combination with a second drug, misoprostol, which is not affected by the ruling but is less effective on its own.
FDA officials have said the agency is conducting a new review of mifepristones safety, but the appeals court noted that there was no timeline for its completion.
Fridays ruling is in effect while the case works its way through the courts. It affects all states, even those without abortion restrictions.
There is little precedent for a federal court overruling the scientific regulations of the FDA, and it remains to be seen how the decision could impact how the drug is dispensed long-term.
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Surveys have found that the majority of abortions in the U.S. are administered using pills and that about one in four abortions nationally are prescribed via telehealth. Providers have suggested that its availability through telehealth is a reason why the number of abortions in the U.S. has not fallen since Roe was overturned in 2022.
As a result, abortion pills and those who prescribe them out of state have become key targets of abortion opponents.
Some Democratic-led states have adopted laws that aim to protect providers who prescribe via telehealth and mail the pills to states with bans. Those so-called shield laws are being tested through civil and criminal cases in Louisiana and Texas.
One telehealth provider in a state with a shield law, Dr. Angel Foster, was working with legal experts to understand how the ruling would impact her organization, The Massachusetts Medication Abortion Project.
"We will do everything in our power to continue providing care to people in all 50 states, she said.
