The U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocked an appeals court decision that would have paused a federal policy allowing the abortion pill mifepristone to be distributed by mail, according to a May 4 announcement.
Justice Samuel Alito issued an administrative stay halting the May 1 temporary injunction from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals until at least 5 p.m. on May 11 Eastern Daylight Time. Alito directed Louisiana to respond by May 7, and his order restores permission for mifepristone’s distribution by mail during this period.
Previously, the appeals court had granted Louisiana’s request to pause the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) policy permitting mifepristone—a drug commonly used for abortions up to ten weeks’ gestation—to be mailed into states with their own restrictions on abortion. Danco Laboratories, which manufactures mifepristone, appealed this injunction directly to the Supreme Court.
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill and Rosalie Markezich sued the FDA over its policy, arguing it enabled Markezich’s former partner to obtain the drug from a California doctor without her direct consultation and then coerce her into taking it. The Trump administration has kept this regulation in place despite opposition from pro-life groups and has sought to block state-level challenges like Louisiana’s.
Before these appellate developments, a federal judge had agreed on April 7 to pause Louisiana’s lawsuit challenging FDA approval of mifepristone pending a promised safety review by the agency; however, details about that review remain unclear.
Mifepristone is typically used as part of medication-based abortions but can also be prescribed for miscarriage care in certain situations considered morally acceptable under Catholic teaching. The Catholic Church maintains its opposition to direct abortion but recognizes licit uses for miscarriage treatment.
