The US Supreme Court on Monday temporarily reinstated a federal regulation permitting the prescription of abortion medication via telehealth services and its distribution by mail. This action overrides a prior judicial ruling that had blocked the regulation's implementation, which had restricted nationwide access to the drug.

Justice Samuel Alito issued a temporary administrative stay, halting a decision from the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. That appeals court ruling had sought to reinstate an older federal rule requiring patients to have an in-person doctor's visit to obtain mifepristone. The 5th Circuit had ruled on Friday in a challenge to the regulation brought by the Republican-led state of Louisiana.

The Supreme Court's move, known as an "administrative stay," is intended to give the justices more time to review emergency requests from mifepristone manufacturers Danco Laboratories and GenBioPro. The manufacturers are seeking to ensure the drug remains available via telehealth and mail while legal challenges proceed in lower courts.

Justice Alito ordered Louisiana to respond to the manufacturers' requests by this Thursday. He noted that the administrative stay is set to expire on May 11. The Supreme Court is expected to either extend the temporary stay or issue a formal ruling on the requests by that date.

Alito, a member of the court's 6-3 conservative majority, took this action because he is the justice designated to oversee emergency matters arising from a group of states that includes Louisiana.

Evan Masingill, CEO of GenBioPro, which produces a generic version of mifepristone, welcomed the court's action on Monday.

"With this critical temporary administrative stay in place, we expect some of the chaos and confusion that arose for patients and healthcare providers over the weekend to be alleviated. GenBioPro remains committed to providing evidence-based, essential medicine for people in the United States and will continue to use all available legal and regulatory pathways to achieve that mission," Masingill stated.

Louisiana's Republican Attorney General, Liz Murrill, posted on social media, saying, "This administrative stay is temporary, and I am confident that life and the law will prevail."

This case places the contentious issue of abortion back on the justices' agenda. With the November U.S. congressional elections approaching, the justices must address another effort by anti-abortion advocates to restrict access to mifepristone.

In 2024, the Supreme Court unanimously dismissed a separate case, which was the first lawsuit brought by anti-abortion groups and doctors attempting to overturn the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) regulations that eased restrictions on the drug. The court ruled that those plaintiffs lacked the necessary legal standing to bring the suit.

Mifepristone was approved by the FDA in 2000. It is used in combination with another drug called misoprostol for medication abortion, a method that now accounts for more than 60% of all abortions in the United States.

The ongoing battle over abortion access stems from the Supreme Court's 2022 decision that overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade precedent, which had legalized abortion nationwide. That ruling prompted 13 states to enact near-total bans on abortion, while several others imposed significant restrictions.

Since that decision, anti-abortion advocates have targeted mifepristone, arguing that the drug is unsafe for women and that the FDA should not have approved it or later eased restrictions on its use. The FDA has stated that mifepristone was approved based on scientific evidence and remains safe and effective when used as directed.

Louisiana sued the FDA in 2025, arguing that a regulation enacted in 2023 under the administration of Democratic President Joe Biden—which eased access to mifepristone by removing the in-person dispensing requirement—was illegal and undermined the state's near-total ban on abortion.

Nancy Northup, President of the Center for Reproductive Rights, stated, "Louisiana's attempt to restrict access to this medication is politically motivated, not based on science or medicine. The people of this country deserve access to this critical drug, which has been approved by the FDA for 25 years."

Carol Tobias, President of the National Right to Life advocacy group, said the court's stay "fails to address the legitimate concerns about the safety of these drugs and the reckless decision by the FDA under the Biden administration to remove long-standing safety safeguards."

Danco Laboratories and GenBioPro intervened in the lawsuit to defend the 2023 regulations. The administration of Republican President Donald Trump opposed the state's challenge, citing an ongoing review of the safety regulations concerning mifepristone.

In April of this year, U.S. Judge Joseph in Lafayette, Louisiana, while refusing to block the regulation from taking effect, agreed to a government proposal to put the case on hold pending the completion of that review. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals then blocked the implementation of the regulation on May 1.