US court limits mail-order access to abortion pill mifepristone
A US appeals court has temporarily reinstated in-person requirements for obtaining the abortion pill mifepristone, reversing a 2023 FDA rule that allowed mail-order access. The decision limits telemedicine availability of the drug, particularly affecting people in states where abortion is banned. The ruling stems from a Louisiana lawsuit and contradicts prior Supreme Court actions that upheld access to the medication.
- ▪The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals paused a 2023 FDA rule allowing mifepristone to be sent by mail without an in-person visit.
- ▪Mifepristone is the first of a two-drug regimen used to end pregnancies and is widely used in states where abortion is legal.
- ▪Louisiana's lawsuit argues that FDA approval undermines its state law recognizing unborn children as legal persons from conception.
- ▪The FDA and medical organizations including ACOG have affirmed mifepristone's safety and effectiveness over more than two decades of use.
- ▪New York Attorney General Letitia James affirmed that abortion access, including medication abortion, remains protected in New York.
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US court limits mail-order access to abortion pill mifepristone5 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleSareen HabeshianGetty ImagesA US court has issued an order significantly restricting access to the abortion pill mifepristone by mail.The Friday decision by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily reinstated a requirement that abortion pills be obtained in person, rather than allow it by mail or at a pharmacy through telemedicine.The move in particular curbs access to medication abortion - the most common method of terminating pregnancies in the US - in states where abortion is banned.The decision, which stems from a lawsuit brought by the state of Louisiana, pauses a 2023 regulation from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that allowed doctors to send pills without…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at BBC News.
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