{"id":2589876,"date":"2026-04-12T15:40:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T19:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-judge-refuses-to-block-sending-abortion-pills-by-mail-but-theres-still-hope\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T15:42:54","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T19:42:54","slug":"trump-judge-refuses-to-block-sending-abortion-pills-by-mail-but-theres-still-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-judge-refuses-to-block-sending-abortion-pills-by-mail-but-theres-still-hope\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Judge Refuses to Block Sending Abortion Pills by Mail, But There&#8217;s Still Hope"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-judge-refuses-to-block-sending-abortion-pills-by-mail-but-theres-still-hope%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2589876&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A federal judge in Lafayette, Louisiana, declined to block federal rules that allow mifepristone to be dispensed by mail nationwide, at least for the time being. U.S. District Judge David Joseph granted a pause on the Louisiana Attorney General\u2019s challenge, but warned the stay isn\u2019t permanent and coudl be revisited as the FDA continues its review of the drug. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said she would appeal the decision,arguing the mail-order rules undermine state abortion restrictions. The ruling keeps <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/republicans-advance-spending-bill-that-would-reverse-fda-rule-allowing-mail-order-abortion-pill\/\" title=\"Republicans advance spending bill that would reverse FDA rule allowing ...-order ...\">mail-order access<\/a> in place while the FDA study proceeds, with a six-month update requested. The decision is part of broader, ongoing battles over abortion access since the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade, highlighting a mix of state actions, telehealth access, and criminal cases in other jurisdictions. The case remains unresolved, with opponents and supporters signaling that the fight over mifepristone\u2019s availability continues to evolve.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>A federal judge Tuesday refused to block filling prescriptions for the abortion pill mifepristone by mail across the U.S. &mdash; at least for now &mdash; in a setback to Louisiana&rsquo;s effort to stifle groups that send it into states where abortion is restricted.<\/p>\n<p>U.S. District Judge David Joseph, who sits in Lafayette, Louisiana, ruled against Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, who asked that U.S. Food and Drug Administration rules that allow mifepristone to be dispensed through the mail be paused while a challenge to those 2023 regulations moves through the courts.<\/p>\n<p>He granted the government&rsquo;s request to put the case on hold for now, though he warned that the pause would not be indefinite &mdash; and that he could side with Louisiana later.<\/p>\n<p>Murrill said in a statement that she would ask an appeals court to throw out the federal rules, noting that the judge &ldquo;concluded that Louisiana suffers irreparable harm every day&rdquo; the current rules are in effect.<\/p>\n<p>In his opinion, Joseph, who was nominated to the bench by President Donald Trump, said that he would follow an FDA study of the drug that is in the works. He also told the agency to update him on the status of its investigation within six months.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadAnyclip() { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst container=document.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!container) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=\"https:\/\/player.anyclip.com\/anyclip-widget\/lre-widget\/prod\/v1\/src\/lre.js\"; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"pubname\", \"westernjournalcom\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"widgetname\", \"001w000001jULVcAAO_M12924\");  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ append inside the container so player shows in correct spot \t\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadAnyclip(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #anyclipvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#anyclipvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Should the agency fail to complete its review and make any necessary revisions&rdquo; to the rules &ldquo;within a reasonable time frame, the Court&rsquo;s analysis &mdash; and the weight accorded to these factors &mdash; will inevitably change,&rdquo; he wrote.<\/p>\n<p>He also said that he believes the plaintiffs are &ldquo;likely to succeed on the merits.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Murrill contended that allowing the prescriptions to be filled by mail undermines abortion restrictions in Louisiana. Republican state officials elsewhere have made similar court challenges in other districts.<\/p>\n<p>Groups that advocate for abortion also stressed that Tuesday&rsquo;s ruling isn&rsquo;t a final one.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;From the courts to the Trump administration to state legislatures across the country, mifepristone and abortion access are very much still under attack,&rdquo; Planned Parenthood Federation of America President and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>Mifepristone, usually taken in combination with a second drug, misoprostol, has moved to the center of legal fights over abortion access since the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade.<\/p>\n<p>In 2024, the nation&rsquo;s top court refused to block filling prescriptions for mifepristone by mail. That case was different because it was brought by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/four-things-to-know-about-major-texas-court-case-against-abortion-pill-access\/\" title=\"Four things to know about major Texas ... case against ... access\">anti-abortion doctors<\/a>, who the court said did not have legal standing to challenge the rules.<\/p>\n<p>While conservative states have moved to restrict abortion, progressive states have moved to protect it. Eight states now have laws that seek to protect those who prescribe abortion pills by telehealth and have them mailed into states with restrictions.<\/p>\n<p>One study found that by the end of 2024, one-fourth of abortions were accessed by telehealth &mdash; a fivefold increase in two years. Another study found that in 2025, women in states where abortion is restricted were more likely to obtain one by getting pills through telehealth than by traveling to other states.<\/p>\n<p>Murrill is pursuing criminal cases against two doctors &mdash; one each in California and New York &mdash; accused of sending pills to patients in Louisiana. Those states have not been willing to have the doctors extradited to face the charges.<\/p>\n<p>Joining Murrill as a plaintiff is a Louisiana woman who says her boyfriend coerced her into taking mifepristone from a California doctor.<\/p>\n<p>Arguments surrounding abortion coercion became a major theme for the plaintiffs&rsquo; legal case. They say that without in-person requirements surrounding the abortion pill, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/elizabeth-holmes-plans-to-accuse-ex-boyfriend-of-abuse-blame-that-for-theranos-fraud\/\" title=\"Elizabeth Holmes Plans To Accuse Ex-Boyfriend Of Abuse, Blame That For Theranos Fraud\">intimate partner abuse<\/a> will only increase. Some <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >anti-domestic abuse advocates pushed back<\/a>, saying telehealth can be a valuable lifeline for survivors.<\/p>\n<p>President Donald Trump&rsquo;s administration last year outraged anti-abortion groups when it approved an additional generic version of mifepristone.<\/p>\n<p>A Hawaii judge last year ruled that the FDA violated the law&nbsp;by imposing restrictions on mifepristone, which is also used for miscarriage management.<\/p>\n<p>___<\/p>\n<p><em>Associated Press writers Lindsay Whitehurst, Sara Cline, and Mark Sherman contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-style: italic;\">The Western Journal has not reviewed this Associated Press story prior to publication. Therefore, it may contain editorial bias or may in some other way not meet our normal editorial standards. It is provided to our readers as a service from The Western Journal.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here\u2019s a concise paraphrase of the core points:<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; A federal judge in Louisiana declined to block nationwide mail-order access to the abortion pill mifepristone for now, delivering a setback to Louisiana\u2019s effort to curb groups that ship the drug into states with abortion restrictions.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; U.S. District Judge David C. Joseph denied Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill\u2019s request to pause FDA rules that let mifepristone be dispensed by mail while the challenge to those 2023 regulations proceeds. He granted a temporary stay in the case but warned the pause isn\u2019t permanent and he could rule for Louisiana later.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Murrill said she would appeal to overturn the federal rules, arguing the judge found irreparable harm from the current rules. Joseph said he would consider an FDA study on the drug and asked the agency to update him within six months.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The ruling is not considered final by abortion-rights advocates. Planned Parenthood and others say mifepristone access remains under attack, even as some states expand telehealth protections for prescribing abortion pills.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Since the Roe v. Wade reversal, mifepristone has been at the center of legal battles. In 2024 the Supreme Court declined to block mail prescriptions in a separate case brought by anti-abortion doctors who lacked standing.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Several states have enacted protections for telehealth abortions that involve mailing pills to restricted states. By late 2024, about one-quarter of abortions were obtained via telehealth, a large rise from prior years; 2025 data show women in restricted states were more likely to obtain pills via telehealth than to travel to other states.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Murrill has also pursued criminal charges against two doctors in California and New York for sending pills to Louisiana patients, though extradition from those states has not been granted. A Louisiana plaintiff in the case says her boyfriend coerced her into taking mifepristone from a California doctor, highlighting coercion and debates over in-person requirements.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The broader context includes political actions around mifepristone, including the Trump administration\u2019s approval of an additional generic version, and a Hawaii ruling that FDA restrictions on the drug may have been unlawful<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2589877,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/91e4bcd0fc654934ab438fcd542f3054-scaled-e1775759424821.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4310,75468,77633],"class_list":["post-2589876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-abortion","tag-abortion-pills-2","tag-mail-order-abortion-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/91e4bcd0fc654934ab438fcd542f3054-scaled-e1775759424821.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2589876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2589876"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2589876\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2589880,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2589876\/revisions\/2589880"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2589877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2589876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2589876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2589876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}