Federal Appeals Court Temporarily Halts Abortion Pills by Mail
The New York Times • • nation
Key Points:
- A federal appeals court temporarily halted abortion providers from prescribing abortion pills via telemedicine and mailing them to patients, a method increasingly used in recent years.
- The ruling came in response to a lawsuit by Louisiana against the FDA, aiming to restrict access to the abortion pill mifepristone.
- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted Louisiana’s request to stay the FDA’s earlier decision removing the in-person medical provider requirement for prescribing the pills.
- The court cited Louisiana’s argument that mailing the pills circumvents the state’s near-total abortion ban and causes irreparable harm.
- Previously, a Louisiana federal district court had declined to halt mail delivery of the pills, awaiting the FDA’s ongoing safety review of mifepristone expected to conclude later this year.
