(The Center Square ) – Two companies that manufacture the abortion pill drug mifepristone were on Monday granted an administrative stay on lower-court rulings that sought to heavily restrict access to the abortion pill.
While abortion proponents are applauding the decision, abortion opponents are confident they will prevail against the abortion pill.
The stay is a temporary measure, with one order in effect until May 11, 2026, to allow time for the court to further consider the case.
This follows last week’s Fifth Circuit Appeals Court ruling in a case out of Louisiana, which had sought to reinstate restrictions, including banning mail-order access and reverting to in-person-only or doctor approved dispensing.
The companies, Danco Laboratories and GenBioPro told the justices that the Fifth Circuit’s order was “unprecedented.” According to SCOTUS Blog, Danco argued that the order “injects immediate confusion and upheaval into highly time-sensitive medical decisions,” while GenBioPro said that the order “has unleashed regulatory chaos.”
Monday’s ruling maintains the status quo for access, which has been in place since 2021 when the FDA loosened restrictions.
Figures vary, but it is estimated that well over half of women seeking abortions nationwide are now using abortion medication, rather than going into a doctor or clinic like Planned Parenthood for a surgical procedure.
Critics of the abortion pill have cited many concerns, including the high number of serious complications.
“It’s estimated that over 60% of abortions are done through the abortion pill,” said Care Net of Puget Sound Communications Director Amelia Graham.
“So, historically, you would need to go into a clinic and see a nurse or a provider in order to receive that medication,” she added.
She told The Center Square that actual figures on abortion statistics post-Dobbs are challenging to obtain.
“These [pills] are all being sent to women at home,” she said. “And as a ministry that cares deeply about these women, it breaks our hearts because they’re not going into the abortion experience knowing what to expect or having the ongoing support or having the knowledge of what’s going on in their bodies. And the complications are downplayed.”
Graham noted a 2025 report from Ethics in Public Policy Center that gathered data from insurance claims related to the abortion pill.
“This largest-known study of the abortion pill is based on analysis of data from an all-payer insurance claims database that includes 865,727 prescribed mifepristone abortions from 2017 to 2023. 10.93 percent of women experienced sepsis, infection, hemorrhaging, or another serious adverse event within 45 days following a mifepristone abortion,” the report states.
Twenty-five states and the District of Columbia allow women to receive the abortion pill following a telehealth visit.
In 2026, Washington state moved to expand access to the abortion pill and potentially distribute the medication to other states before the medication expires.
Olympia Democrat Jessica Bateman offered a bill to allow the Department of Corrections, because it holds a pharmacy license, to distribute mifepristone to healthcare providers in Washington.
“It is a safe and accessible, medically necessary form of care for people that need it,” said Bateman in a Jan 21, 2026, legislative hearing. “And it also critically provides privacy for individuals that would prefer to go through a medication abortion in the privacy of their own home.”
Washington Democratic Party Chair Shasti Conrad told The Center Square she is encouraged by Monday’s ruling.
“It’s in alignment with what Washington Democrats have been fighting for, which is that we’ve never stopped fighting for reproductive healthcare,” said Conrad. “We believe no one should be between a pregnant person and their doctor, especially politicians or judges.”
Mark Wiltz, director of government affairs at Live Action, an organization working to abolish abortion, told The Center Square his group is confident the U.S. Supreme Court will ultimately rule to put strict limits on access to abortion medication without a doctor’s order.
“The ruling today from Justice Alito is basically a procedural effort that we’ve seen from the court previously. And Justice Alito did the same thing during COVID with the rent moratorium ban,” Wiltz said.
“He said let both parties bring their evidence, let them get their ducks in a row and let justices have enough time to review the case. Then they essentially ruled in a conservative manner.”
Conrad with Washington Democrats told The Center Square, while the nation’s high court considers the issue, women in Washington are protected.
“I am just grateful that we have the resources that we do here in Washington state,” she said.
