The United States Supreme Court has temporarily restored access to the abortion pill mifepristone through telehealth appointments and mail delivery while it reviews emergency appeals from drug manufacturers.
Justice Samuel Alito on Monday issued an “administrative stay” blocking the lower court’s ruling, which would have required patients nationwide to receive the drug in person, according to CNN.
The order will remain in force till May 11 while the court considers arguments from Danco Laboratories and GenBioPro, manufacturers of branded and generic versions of mifepristone.
Danco Laboratories said the appeals court decision “creates immediate confusion and upheaval in highly time-sensitive medical decisions.”
GenBioPro warned that the decision would “suddenly cut off access for patients across the country.”
The case brings abortion rights back to the center of the court’s agenda less than two years after the justices overturned Roe v. Wade.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, patients in the US have been allowed to receive mifepristone through telehealth services without having to visit a doctor in person.
According to the Guttmacher Institute, more than 60 percent of abortions in the country in 2023 will be due to medication-related abortions.
The legal challenge was brought when Louisiana argued that federal rules allowing mail access weaken the state’s abortion restrictions.
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