Supreme Court lifts ban on mail-order and online mifepristone
Justice Alito's action is effective until May 11, when further arguments are due
The U.S. Supreme Court on has temporarily lifted a ban on telehealth access to the abortion medication mifepristone, pausing a lower-court order that had blocked by-mail and remote prescriptions.
Justice Samuel A. Alito penned the brief order, which had been issued last weekend by the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. His one-sentence ordered pauses that action until at least May 11.
Attorneys for the parties are asked to file briefs by Thursday. The full court will then decide how to proceed.
The Fifth Circuit’s ruling came in response to a lawsuit filed by the state of Louisiana against the Food and Drug Administration, saying the availability of the medication by mail has allowed abortions to continue in the state despite its near-total ban.