Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. on Monday extended a temporary order allowing patients to continue to access the most commonly used abortion pill by mail, as the full court weighs a broader ruling on whether to restrict the nationwide distribution of mifepristone.
Alito’s order extended to Thursday an earlier stay that was expiring Monday.
The court is weighing whether, for now, a May 1 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans will remain in place. The appeals court had reinstated a requirement that patients pick up mifepristone in person, a mandate that would severely limit abortion access across the country.
Two drugmakers that manufacture mifepristone and a generic version of the drug have asked the Supreme Court to overturn the appeals court ruling. Alito issued a one-week pause on the ruling on May 4 to give the justices time to consider the appeals.
The ruling stems from a lawsuit filed by Louisiana against the Food and Drug Administration. State officials argue Biden-era rules that allow mifepristone distribution by mail undercut the state’s near-total ban on abortion and restrictions on abortion pills.
The high court’s ruling will determine how the drug can be dispensed while that case plays out.
Opponents of abortion have grown frustrated with the wide availability of abortion pills, which have led to an increase in abortions since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in a landmark 2022 decision.
Mifepristone is typically used as part of a two-drug combination for a medication abortion, which has become the most common way of ending pregnancies. Telehealth appointments and prescriptions by mail have made the drugs accessible to patients in all states, even those that limit or ban abortions.
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