Supreme Court restores access to abortion pill mifepristone through telehealth, mail, and pharmacies

Politics Supreme Court restores access to abortion pill mifepristone through telehealth, mail, and pharmacies The majority of abortions in the U.S. are obtained through medications Manage alerts for this article Email this article Share this article By Associated PressMay 4, 2026 WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday restored broad access to the abortion pill mifepristone, blocking a ruling that had threatened to upend one of the main ways abortion is provided across the nation. The order signed by Justice Samuel Alito temporarily allows women seeking abortions to obtain the pill at pharmacies or through the mail, without an in-person visit to a doctor.Advertisement Those rules had been in effect for several years until a federal appeals court imposed new restrictions last week. The majority of abortions in the U.S. are obtained through medications, usually a combination of mifepristone and a second drug, misoprostol. Their availability has blunted the impact of abortion bans that most Republican-led states have started enforcing since a 2022 Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed for state bans. Louisiana sued to restrict access to mifepristone, asserting that its availability undermined the ban there.Advertisement Some Democratic-led states have laws that seek to give legal protection to those who prescribe the drugs via telehealth to patients in states with bans. Alito’s order will remain in effect for another week while both sides respond and the court more fully considers the issue. Manufacturers of mifepristone filed emergency appeals asking the Supreme Court to step in. — Mark Sherman and Geoff Mulvihill abortion, legal, Pharmaceuticals, Supreme Court Submit a correction requestReprints Associated Press Newsletter Understand how science, health policy, and medicine shape the world every day Recommended Health Care Inc. Newsletter May 4, 2026 STAT Plus: Pump the brakes on AI, buddy; and deposition deadlock Special Report May 4, 2026 Immigration changes are driving foreign researchers to leave the U.S. — or not come to begin with Advertisement Politics April 30, 2026 STAT Plus: Katherine Szarama named acting director of FDA’s vaccines and biologics center Health April 30, 2026 STAT Plus: In her own words: Surgeon general nominee Nicole Saphier expresses enthusiasm and caution for MAHA Health April 30, 2026 Trump drops Casey Means as surgeon general nominee, opts for radiologist Nicole Saphier Subscriber Picks