Medication abortion is under attack.

Roughly two-thirds of Americans end their pregnancies by taking two abortion drugs—mifepristone and misoprostol. Because these safe, effective medications can be prescribed via telehealth by providers in states that protect abortion access, without an in-office visit, they are how most patients terminate pregnancies in states that ban abortion.

In recent years, anti-abortion groups and lawmakers have seeded a number of challenges to medication abortion. This year, several are coming to fruition.

In the coming months, decisions from either the courts, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), or Department of Justice could attempt to shut down telehealth for medication abortion.

I am a law professor who researches and writes on reproductive health and abortion law. Here’s the abortion news I’m monitoring for the rest of 2026.

Louisiana lawsuit imperils abortion access nationwide

The most imminent threat to mailed abortion pills is the court case Louisiana v. FDA.

Louisiana sued the FDA in October 2025 over the agency’s 2023 decision to remove an in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone.

The state alleges that rule change was unlawful, purportedly because the FDA failed to weigh the dangers of the drug. Louisiana, which has a near-total abortion ban, claims that it has suffered direct economic harm and threats to its state sovereignty when providers in protective states legally prescribe abortion pills to pregnant Louisianans across state lines.

This case has moved quickly. In April 2026, at the FDA’s request, a district court in Louisiana paused the case, halting the litigation.

Louisiana appealed to the Fifth Circuit, which agreed with the state. On May 1, 2026, it reinstated the previous in-person prescription and dispensing requirement for mifepristone—a ruling with nationwide consequences. That weekend, patients across the U.S.—regardless of the abortion laws in their state—could no longer get mifepristone through telehealth, mail, or in pharmacies.

Two pharmaceutical companies that manufacture mifepristone asked the Supreme Court to intervene, and on May 14, 2026, the justices blocked the Fifth Circuit’s decision. That emergency order allows providers to prescribe mifepristone via telehealth again while the litigation proceeds in Louisiana.

By the end of summer, its docketing schedule shows, the Fifth Circuit will consider Louisiana’s appeal of the district court’s decision to deny the state an injunction against the FDA.

Past statements by judges on this case........

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