{"id":2602883,"date":"2026-05-14T18:33:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T22:33:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-lifts-block-on-mail-order-abortion-pills\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T18:34:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T22:34:44","slug":"supreme-court-lifts-block-on-mail-order-abortion-pills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-lifts-block-on-mail-order-abortion-pills\/","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court lifts block on mail-order abortion pills"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/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%2Fsupreme-court-lifts-block-on-mail-order-abortion-pills%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=2602883&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>The U.S. Supreme Court restored nationwide access to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/this-would-be-my-third-abortion-pregnant-activist-takes-abortion-pill-on-live-tv\/\" title=\"\u2018This Would Be My Third ...\u2019: Pregnant Activist Takes ... On Live TV\">mail-order abortion pills<\/a> (mifepristone) on Thursday, temporarily lifting a lower-court block tied to an FDA rule that removed an in-person requirement for prescribing the drug. The Court issued a 7-2 decision to place an emergency stay on a Fifth Circuit ruling from May 1 that reinstated an in-person screening requirement to access the pill.<\/p>\n<p>The majority did not explain its reasoning. In separate dissents, Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito argued the stay would effectively undermine the Court\u2019s June 2022 *dobbs* decision by interfering with state efforts to regulate or restrict abortion.Alito framed the dispute around the ability of states-particularly Louisiana, which has largely prohibited elective abortions-as being thwarted by providers and organizations that oppose those restrictions.<\/p>\n<p>Legal uncertainty created by the May 1 ruling has led some doctors and clinics to pause prescribing mifepristone until the legal status is clarified. The dispute traces back to louisiana\u2019s lawsuit against the FDA after its 2023 changes allowed telehealth prescribing and mail delivery without in-person evaluation. louisiana\u2019s arguments included claims of \u201cirreparable harm,\u201d such as the contention that online access undermines state prohibitions, while the appeals court also referenced costs to Louisiana\u2019s Medicaid program from complications.<\/p>\n<p>This case follows a prior Supreme Court decision in 2024 in which the Court unanimously upheld the FDA\u2019s online and nationwide distribution approach for mifepristone, but agreed the main challenger lacked standing. The Court signaled it could address the Louisiana case more fully in the future, while its thursday emergency ruling maintains access for now.  <\/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<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p>The <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/supreme-court\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"203\">Supreme Court<\/a> restored access on Thursday to mail-order <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/abortion\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"200\">abortion<\/a> pills nationwide, lifting an <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/4552077\/appeals-court-temporarily-blocks-mail-order-abortion-nationwide\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/4552077\/appeals-court-temporarily-blocks-mail-order-abortion-nationwide\/\">appeals court\u2019s block<\/a> on a 2023 Food and Drug Administration rule that had removed the in-person requirement for mifepristone.<\/p>\n<p>In an <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.supremecourt.gov\/opinions\/25pdf\/25a1207_21p3.pdf\">unsigned order<\/a>, the high court ruled 7-2 in favor of issuing a stay, which indefinitely pauses a May 1 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit that had restored an in-person screening requirement for access to the abortion pill. The majority did not elaborate on its ruling. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito each wrote their own fiery dissents disagreeing with the high court\u2019s decision to lift the lower court\u2019s block.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/4568427\/supreme-court-lifts-block-on-mail-order-abortion-pills\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Supreme Court lifts block on mail-order abortion pills<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/healthcare\/4569383\/cdc-currently-no-us-cases-hantavirus\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>CDC says currently no US cases of hantavirus<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4567610\/bill-cassidy-fda-chief-drug-medical-device-experience\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Bill Cassidy says new FDA chief lacks needed drug and medical device experience<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>\u201cI write separately to note that, as Louisiana argued below, it is a criminal offense to ship mifepristone for use in abortions. The Comstock Act bans using \u2018the mails\u2019 to ship any \u2018drug \u2026 for producing abortion,&#8217;\u201d Thomas wrote, saying he would deny the emergency petition brought by two abortion pill drugmakers to lift the block on selling the pills online and transporting them to patients via mail.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>\u201cApplicants 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 \u2018serve the public interest\u2019 to \u2018reduc[e]\u2019 applicants\u2019 \u2018opportunity to commit crimes,\u2019 a stay would have the opposite effect. I respectfully dissent,\u201d Thomas added.<\/p>\n<p>Alito called the decision by his seven colleagues to grant the emergency petition \u201cremarkable,\u201d adding, \u201cWhat is at stake is the perpetration of a scheme to undermine our decision in <em>Dobbs<\/em> v. <em>Jackson<\/em> <em>Women\u2019s Health Organization<\/em>, which restored the right of each State to decide how to regulate abortions within its borders.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome States responded to <em>Dobbs<\/em> by making it even easier to obtain an abortion than it was before, and that is their prerogative. Other States, including Louisiana, made abortion illegal except in narrow circumstances. But Louisiana\u2019s efforts have been thwarted by certain medical providers, private organizations, and States that abhor laws like Louisiana\u2019s and seek to undermine their enforcement,\u201d Alito said in his dissent.<\/p>\n<p>Alito, who handles emergency petitions from the circuit the case originated from, granted an administrative stay last week, extending the deadline of the temporary halt by several days to allow the justices to decide what to do after the 5th Circuit issued a national injunction putting a pause on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/supreme-court-temporarily-preserves-online-abortion-pill-sales\/\" title=\"...\">online abortion pill sales<\/a> as part of relief in Louisiana\u2019s lawsuit against the FDA.<\/p>\n<p>The uncertainty over access to the abortion pill since the 5th Circuit ruling on May 1 has had the medical community on edge, with some physicians and clinics pausing prescriptions for mifepristone until the legal status is clarified.<\/p>\n<p>Mifepristone, the first drug in a two-part medication abortion protocol, is used in roughly two-thirds of the 1.1 million abortions annually in the United States.\u00a0Louisiana Attorney General <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/author\/liz-murrill\/\">Liz Murrill <\/a>sued the FDA in October over the agency\u2019s 2023 decision to allow doctors to prescribe mifepristone via telehealth and send abortion pills through the mail without ever evaluating their patients in person. <\/p>\n<p>The 2023 decision from the Biden administration\u2019s FDA removed the in-person screening requirements before and after dispensing the pills, which had been part of the abortion pill protocol since mifepristone was initially approved for use in 2000.<\/p>\n<p>Abortion policy experts estimate that the year-over-year increase in abortions since the overturning of <em>Roe v. Wade <\/em>in 2022 is due to online abortion pill sales. <\/p>\n<p>Murrill, assisted by the conservative legal advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom, argues the FDA\u2019s removal of the in-person requirement harmed Louisiana, along with the 12 other states that have prohibited elective abortions following the overturning of <em>Roe<\/em>. <\/p>\n<p>The 5th Circuit opinion, authored by Trump-appointed Judge Kyle Duncan, agreed with Louisiana\u2019s claim that the state is \u201csuffering irreparable harm\u201d because the ability to <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >obtain online abortion pills effectively nullifies state law prohibiting elective abortion<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/4563517\/supreme-court-temporarily-preserves-online-abortion-pill-sales\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"4563517\">SUPREME COURT TEMPORARILY PRESERVES ONLINE ABORTION PILL SALES<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The appeals court also acknowledged that emergency room visits due to complications from at-home abortions significantly contribute to the state\u2019s Medicaid budget, which covers health expenses for low-income residents. More than 40% of Louisiana residents are covered by Medicaid. <\/p>\n<p>In a 2024 case, the Supreme Court <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3040731\/supreme-court-upholds-fda-approval-of-abortion-pill-mifepristone\/\">unanimously upheld<\/a> the FDA\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Supreme Court restores nationwide mail-order abortion pills, lifting block<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4267,"featured_media":2602884,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP25276586814241.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[4310,79347,32275],"class_list":["post-2602883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-abortion","tag-mail-order-pills","tag-supreme-court"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP25276586814241.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602883","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\/4267"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2602883"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602883\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2602887,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2602883\/revisions\/2602887"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2602884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2602883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2602883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2602883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}