Ruling forces in-person access nationwide as drug manufacturer moves to challenge decision at the Supreme Court

A US appeals court has temporarily blocked the mail delivery of mifepristone, a medication used in the majority of abortions in the United States.

Despite the ruling, the company distributing the drug says it will appeal the decision at the US Supreme Court.

The order was issued by a three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in a lawsuit brought by the southern state of Louisiana, which has some of the strictest anti-abortion laws in the country, against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The court’s order, delivered by the conservative-dominated panel, requires women seeking abortions anywhere in the United States to obtain mifepristone in person from health clinics, effectively banning delivery by mail or through pharmacies.

Danco Laboratories, one of the two companies distributing the drug in the US, has requested a one-week pause on the appeals court’s order while it prepares to file an emergency appeal at the Supreme Court.

“Danco requests a temporary administrative stay of the panel’s order for one week… to allow time to seek relief in the United States Supreme Court,” the company said.

Reports indicate that the appeals court overturned a lower court ruling that had allowed mifepristone to continue being delivered by mail while the FDA reviewed its regulations on the drug.

A conservative research group advocating for stricter scrutiny of mifepristone’s safety cited a study that was not peer-reviewed and was published online rather than in a scientific journal.

Mifepristone was first approved by the FDA in 2000. It is widely used for abortion care in the United States and is also routinely prescribed to manage early miscarriage.

The drug is typically used alongside misoprostol. While mifepristone halts pregnancy progression, misoprostol helps expel the pregnancy. Together, they are approved for use up to 70 days of gestation.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill welcomed the ruling, describing it as a “victory for life.” She also criticised what she called the widespread use of mail-order abortion pills.

Meanwhile, President and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, Nancy Northup, condemned the decision, saying: “This is not about science; it’s about making abortion as difficult, expensive, and inaccessible as possible.”

Julia Kaye, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), also criticised the ruling, stating that it would make it significantly harder for people across the country to access medication that has been safely used for more than 25 years.

Since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, about 20 states have moved to ban or heavily restrict abortion access.