New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday reinstated broad access to the abortion pill mifepristone, halting a ruling that had threatened to disrupt one of the primary methods of abortion nationwide.
In an order signed by Justice Samuel Alito, the court temporarily permits women to obtain the pill from pharmacies or by mail without needing an in-person doctor’s visit. These provisions had been in place for years before a federal appeals court introduced new restrictions last week.
Medication abortions — typically involving mifepristone along with a second drug, misoprostol — account for most abortions in the United States. Their continued availability has lessened the impact of abortion bans enforced by many Republican-led states after the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade, which allowed states to impose their own restrictions.
Louisiana had sought to limit access to mifepristone, arguing that its availability weakened the state’s abortion ban. Meanwhile, some Democratic-led states have enacted laws to protect providers prescribing these medications via telehealth to patients in states where abortion is restricted.
Alito’s order will stay in place for another week as the court reviews arguments from both sides. The move follows emergency appeals filed by mifepristone manufacturers urging the Supreme Court to intervene.
