The U.S. Supreme Court will temporarily allow women to obtain abortion pills through the mail, without visiting an in-person doctor.
Justices on the court blocked a ruling out of Louisiana that would have restricted a woman’s ability to access a pill through the mail. Louisiana already has a ban on the abortion drug mifepristone, but sought to prevent its access through the mail from other states.
An order, finalized by the Joe Biden administration in 2023, allowed for women to access mifepristone without an in-person doctor’s visit. A federal judge ruled in favor of Louisiana last week, blocking access to the pill through the mail.
Danco and GenProBio, two abortion drug makers, filed emergency requests to the U.S. Supreme Court seeking relief from the order. The high court’s temporary order, from Justice Samuel Alito, will give time to weigh the requests for one more week.
“Making it a federal crime to mail drugs for lawful medical purposes contravenes nearly a century of precedent and all indicia of Congressional intent,” Danco Laboratories wrote. “It would also significantly interfere with states’ traditional power to enact their own ‘health and welfare laws.’”
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said removing the in-person doctor’s visit requirement causes undue harm to women. She said the lack of an in-person doctor’s visit facilitates potential abuse an coercion for women who do not want abortions.
“We will continue to pursue enforcement of our laws, both civilly and criminally, against anybody who has facilitated the distribution of these drugs for the purposes of causing an abortion,” Murrill said. “It is a violation of our criminal laws, and we will pursue them and hold everyone accountable.”
Louisiana is not the only state challenging either the approval of mifepristone or subsequent actions easing the restrictions for mailing abortion pills. Missouri, Idaho, Kansas, Florida and Texas have also challenged the ease of restrictions.
Justices on the nation’s highest court will hold the ban in place until May 11, while they further consider the restrictions and weigh whether to take up the emergency petitions.
