The Supreme Court has opted to preserve the current availability of the abortion medication mifepristone via mail-order, a decision that extends a temporary halt on restrictions while a significant legal challenge unfolds. The highest court did not provide a detailed explanation for its majority ruling, nor did it disclose the vote count of the nine justices.

This development follows a lawsuit initiated by the state of Louisiana against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Louisiana’s legal action targets the FDA’s 2023 decision to revoke a requirement for mifepristone to be administered in person. This particular rule change by the FDA occurred approximately one year after the Supreme Court’s landmark decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, thereby eliminating the federal constitutional right to abortion and returning regulatory authority to individual states.

The legal journey saw a federal district court judge initially decline Louisiana’s request to block mail-order distribution of the drug. However, the case then moved to the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which, on May 1, imposed a nationwide prohibition on sending mifepristone through the mail. In response, two pharmaceutical companies, Danco Laboratories and GenBioPro, which manufacture the drug, petitioned the Supreme Court to lift this appellate court ban.

Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito issued dissenting opinions to the Supreme Court’s order, which indefinitely prolongs the temporary stay first issued on May 4. Justice Thomas argued that the drugmakers’ complaints about reduced profits did not warrant interim relief, particularly given his assertion that shipping mifepristone for abortion use constitutes a criminal offense under the Comstock Act. He stated that companies cannot claim irreparable harm from an order that complicates what he views as criminal activity. Justice Alito, in his dissent, characterized the majority’s “unreasoned order” as “remarkable” and suggested it risked undermining the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, which affirmed states’ rights to regulate abortion within their borders.