Supreme Court Restores Access to Abortion-by-Mail After Lower Court Halted It

UPDATE: The Supreme Court restored broad access to the abortion pill Mifepristone Monday morning, blocking a ruling that had halted delivery of abortion pills by mail across the nation. 

The order signed by Justice Samuel Alito temporarily allows women seeking abortions to obtain the pill at pharmacies or through the mail, without an in-person visit to a doctor. 

The latest move at the high court comes after a three-judge appeals court panel had temporarily halted women from receiving the abortion pill, Mifepristone, by mail. Some had begun calling it the most sweeping abortion restriction since the 2022 Supreme Court decision overturning Roe versus Wade.

The FDA approved Mifepristone in 2000. In 2023, the Biden Administration no longer required women to see a certified health care provider in person to receive the drug. 

Louisiana Attorney General Elizabeth Murrell sued the FDA, claiming abortion pills sent through the mail skirted its statewide abortion ban.

Murrell told the Senate Health Committee, "After Dobbs, the Biden FDA promptly announced that it would remove the in-person dispensing requirements for abortion pills, thereby authorizing Mifepristone to be shipped nationwide by mail."

* Most Abortion Drug Complications Covered Up: Study Exposes ER Miscoding 'Crisis'

Abortion law expert Mary Ziegler at UC Davis said it became "doctors in states where abortion is legal, mailing pills to people in states where it is not. And the Fifth Circuit ruling has essentially put an end to that for now."

Alexis McGill Johnson, President of Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider, calls this court ruling part of a move to enact a nationwide abortion ban. "It's incredibly outrageous to know that a federal court once again is coming for access to abortion," Johnson said.

While abortion advocates claim Mifepristone is safe, others warn the abortion pill can be especially dangerous to women who get it in the mail.

Obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Monique Wubbenhorst told the Senate Health Committee, "The different risks that are associated are bleeding, infection, hemorrhage, need for transfusion, and perforation."    

* 'Not Safe': Women Face Life-Threatening Dangers from Abortion Pills, Latest Study Reveals

Pro-life groups had praised the decision by the appeals court to halt the sending of abortion pills by mail. 

Alliance Defending Freedom, which is involved in the case, said it would prevent "pro-abortion activists and doctors from mailing streams of high-risk abortion drugs into states that protect the lives of unborn babies."

National Right to Life pointed it would have restored a safety measure for women – "in-person medical visits for dangerous abortion pills."

Pro-life groups have long warned that chemical abortions have high complication rates and that the lack of in-person medical supervision puts women at risk. 

Opponents also say mailing abortion drugs violates the Comstock Act, which prohibits sending birth control by mail. 

Now that the ruling has been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, the lower court's ruling is on hold as abortion-rights advocates ask the high court to fully hear the case and issue a final ruling. 

* EXPOSED: Abortion Pill Causes Severe, Fatal Side Effects for Women - 'The FDA Has Failed Miserably.'

ABORTION PILL REVERSAL: 

• Reversing Regret: Procedure Stops Abortions in Progress 
• Regret Taking an Abortion Pill? You Can Reverse It, but States Are Debating if Doctors Should Tell You
• She Took an Abortion Pill, Then Realized It Was a 'Major Mistake.' Here's How She Saved Her Baby's Life
• Pro-Life Doctor Who Helped Women with 'Abortion Pill Reversal' Vindicated by UK Medical Council