Access to a widely used abortion medication will remain unchanged — at least temporarily — after a last-minute intervention from the nation’s highest court.
According to the New York Post, the Supreme Court of the United States stepped in Monday to pause a lower court ruling that would have sharply limited how patients obtain the drug mifepristone.
Justice Samuel Alito issued the temporary order, blocking the decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit until May 11. The move effectively keeps current rules in place while the justices consider next steps.
The Fifth Circuit, based in New Orleans, had directed the Food and Drug Administration to require that doctors prescribe the medication only through in-person visits.
That order, issued May 1, would have eliminated access to the drug through telemedicine and mail delivery.
Instead, the Supreme Court’s pause preserves those options for now.
Mifepristone is part of a two-drug regimen used to terminate a pregnancy. The FDA first approved it in 2000, and access to the medication has expanded in the years since, including allowing prescriptions through telehealth and delivery by mail.
The legal fight centers on whether those expanded access rules should remain in place.
By stepping in, Alito’s order does not resolve the dispute but gives the court additional time to review an emergency request filed by two drug manufacturers challenging the Fifth Circuit’s ruling.
That petition asks the high court to block the lower court’s restrictions while the broader case plays out.
For now, patients and providers will continue operating under the existing system, which permits remote prescribing and distribution of the medication.
The temporary nature of the decision means further action from the court is expected in the coming days, as the justices weigh how to proceed in a case that could have significant implications for access to the drug nationwide.
