Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. on Monday issued an order that temporarily allows patients to continue accessing a widely used abortion pill through the mail.
The decision came after two drugmakers filed emergency appeals to the high court fighting a Friday ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans that reinstated a requirement that the drug, mifepristone, can only be picked up in person.
Danco Laboratories, the maker of the drug, and GenBioPro, which manufacturers a generic version, on Saturday both formally requested that the court weigh in on the lower court’s ruling that made it harder for patients to access pills.
The Friday ruling came in a lawsuit by the state of Louisiana against the Food and Drug Administration, which had previously allowed patients to access pills through telehealth and the mail.
Monday’s order allows mifepristone access through telehealth and mail until May 11 while the justices confer on whether to further pause the appellate court order. The high court has asked for a response to both emergency appeals by Thursday.
After the Supreme Court eliminated Roe v. Wade in 2022, legal experts and abortion advocates forged a new path to preserve access to the procedure, even in states with severe restrictions.
In eight Democratic-led states where the procedure remained legal, they worked to pass “shield laws” — measures that allow providers to remotely prescribe and mail the drugs to women regardless of where they live. Shield laws, which explicitly protect providers from out-of-state prosecution, have kept abortion pills flowing into all 50 states.