Roughly two-thirds of Americans end their pregnancies by taking two abortion medications – misoprostol and mifepristone. Because these safe, effective medications can be prescribed via telehealth, 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 2026, decisions from either the courts, Food and Drug Administration or Department of Justice could end 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 could upend 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 the 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 5th Circuit, which agreed with the state. On May 1, 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, the mail or in pharmacies.

Two pharmaceutical companies that manufacture mifepristone asked the Supreme Court to intervene, and on May 14, the justices blocked the 5th Circuit’s decision. That emergency order allows providers to again prescribe mifepristone via telehealth while the litigation proceeds in Louisiana.

By the end of summer, its docketing schedule shows, the 5th Circuit will consider Louisiana’s appeal of the district court’s decision to deny the state........

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