Supreme Court temporarily halts federal appeals court ban on Mifepristone mail prescriptions News
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Supreme Court temporarily halts federal appeals court ban on Mifepristone mail prescriptions

The Supreme Court on Monday put a brief hold on a federal appeals court ruling that had banned telemedicine prescriptions for the abortion drug mifepristone, giving the justices time to weigh whether to intervene more fully in the case.

Justice Samuel Alito, who handles emergency applications from the Fifth Circuit, issued administrative stays in two separate cases — one brought by mifepristone’s brand-name manufacturer, Danco Laboratories, and another by generic maker GenBioPro — pausing the lower court’s order until 5 p.m. EDT on May 11. Louisiana and other respondents must file their responses by May 7.

The move temporarily restores the status quo before Friday’s Fifth Circuit ruling, meaning telemedicine prescriptions for mifepristone and mail dispensing can continue in the interim.

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 justices believe the Fifth Circuit was wrong.

The underlying dispute centers on a 2023 Food and Drug Administration rule, part of what is formally known as a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS), that allowed mifepristone to be prescribed remotely and dispensed by mail — a policy first adopted during the Covid-19 pandemic. Louisiana challenged the rule under the Administrative Procedure Act, arguing the FDA relied on flawed or incomplete data when it dropped an earlier requirement that patients visit a provider in person.

A unanimous three-judge Fifth Circuit panel sided with Louisiana on Friday, finding the state was likely to succeed on the merits and staying the FDA rule nationwide while litigation continues. The court pointed to the agency’s own acknowledgment that its review suffered from “procedural deficits” and a “lack of adequate consideration.”

Mifepristone now accounts for more than 60 percent of abortions in the United States. Similar challenges to the FDA rule are pending in other federal courts.

The Supreme Court will next face a decision about what to do when the administrative stay expires May 11 — whether to let the Fifth Circuit ruling take effect, extend the hold further, or grant a longer-term stay while the legal fight plays out.

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