The Supreme Court has issued a temporary administrative stay blocking a major Fifth Circuit ruling that had reinstated in-person dispensing requirements for mifepristone — handing abortion pill manufacturers a short-term reprieve while the justices consider the full emergency appeal.
The Fifth Circuit ruling stemmed from a lawsuit filed by Louisiana, which argued the Biden-era FDA policy allowing mifepristone to be prescribed and mailed without an in-person visit was directly enabling illegal abortions within its borders — bypassing the state’s near-total abortion ban.
Justice Samuel Alito, who handles emergency requests from the Fifth Circuit, issued the administrative stay and instructed the FDA and Louisiana to respond by Thursday, May 8. The stay is temporary — it preserves the status quo while the court decides whether to grant a full stay pending appeal.
Since the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision, mail-order prescriptions have become the primary channel through which abortions are conducted in states with bans. Mifepristone now accounts for roughly 60% of all abortions nationwide.
The Fifth Circuit ruling had reinstated the requirement that the drug cannot be distributed without an in-person medical visit — a safety protocol that was in place for years before the Biden administration eliminated it. The Supreme Court’s temporary stay does not decide the merits of the case. The underlying question of whether mail-order abortion pills can be used to circumvent state abortion bans remains very much alive.
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