SCOTUS preserves abortion pill access — for now 

SCOTUS preserves abortion pill access — for now 

The Supreme Court on Thursday ensured the abortion pill mifepristone will continue to be available through the mail without an in-person appointment with a clinician while a lawsuit is argued. 

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The justices halted a May 1 order from the conservative U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit that reinstated a requirement that women must visit a health care provider in-person to obtain mifepristone. If it had taken effect, the order would have severely curtailed abortion access across the country. 

Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented separately. 

Thomas notably referenced the Comstock Act, an 1873 anti-obscenity law, to argue that federal law already makes mailing mifepristone a criminal offense. 

“Applicants are not entitled to a stay of an adverse court order based on lost profits from their criminal enterprise. They cannot, in any legally relevant sense, be irreparably harmed by a court order that makes it more difficult for them to commit crimes,” Thomas wrote. 

It is not a final decision in the high-stakes dispute. The case now heads back to the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit, and it could ultimately return to the justices on their normal docket.  

The Supreme Court was asked to weigh in by two drugmakers that manufacture mifepristone and a generic version of the drug. The companies argued the 5th Circuit’s decision was unprecedented and would cause confusion. 

The underlying lawsuit involves Louisiana’s objection to a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation that allowed mifepristone to be prescribed through telehealth, in pharmacies and through the mail — making it available........

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