WASHINGTON D.C. — The Supreme Court tonight extended its temporary order blocking the 5th Circuit Court’s ruling that prohibited mail and pharmacy distribution of mifepristone, a safe, effective medication used in most U.S. abortions as well as in early miscarriage care. 

The decision will allow patients and providers to temporarily continue accessing the abortion medication by mail and at retail pharmacies as this case is considered by the courts.  

“While today’s ruling is a relief because it means patients can continue to access mifepristone by mail or at retail pharmacies, the order is only a temporary reprieve,” said Fatima Goss Graves, NWLC’s president and CEO. “Louisiana’s attempt to take away abortion access nationwide continues in the lower courts. And we know that anti-abortion extremists will not stop until they exert total control over our bodies, our lives, and our futures.  

“So much remains at risk. The people who would bear the burden of losing access to telehealth for mifepristone will be single moms who cannot take off work for a doctor’s appointment, people who lack transportation or live in rural areas, survivors of intimate partner violence, and communities who are already exhausted from navigating a complex and frustrating healthcare system. But we will not stand by as our rights and access are chipped away, and we will not stop fighting until every person in this country can have dignified means of obtaining the reproductive health care they need and deserve.”  

Mifepristone is an FDA-approved medication that people have been able to safely rely on for over two decades, and telehealth is essential for many patients to get the care they need. The use of mifepristone is backed by robust medical and scientific study. The Supreme Court’s extension of the stay keeps current access rules in place while the case proceeds. 

NWLC, along with over 162 other reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations, signed onto an amicus brief opposing the ruling from the 5th Circuit.