The Supreme Court issued an order Monday that restored broad access to mifepristone, the medication used in most abortions across the United States. The decision blocked a ruling from a federal appeals court that had imposed new restrictions on the drug just days earlier, averting what could have been a significant disruption to abortion access nationwide.
Under the court's order, women seeking abortions can now obtain mifepristone at pharmacies or through the mail, eliminating the requirement for an in-person visit to a doctor. The regulations allowing this access had been in place for several years before the appeals court moved to restrict them last week. Most abortions in the country are obtained using medication, typically a combination of mifepristone and a second drug called misoprostol.
The availability of these medications has been particularly significant for women living in states with abortion bans, as it has provided a pathway to abortion access even where the procedure is otherwise prohibited. Louisiana had sued, arguing that mifepristone's availability undermined the state's abortion ban. The Supreme Court's decision to restore access effectively rejected that legal challenge.
