Mail-order access to abortion drug reinstated by Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on May 4 reinstated mail-order access to the widely used abortion drug mifepristone, a temporary decision that gives the justices more time to consider the issue.

The court intervened after the Food and Drug Administration was ordered on May 1 to revive a requirement that doctors prescribe the drug only after an in-person exam. It was the first time access to mifepristone had been significantly curtailed during years of litigation over the drug, which was first approved in 2000.

At the request of drugmakers, Justice Samuel Alito paused until May 11 the restrictive ruling by a lower court while the full court decides what the rules for mifepristone should be as a Louisiana challenges expanded access.