A federal appeals court has restricted access to one of the most common abortion methods in the United States by blocking mail-in prescriptions for mifepristone.
A panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, based in New Orleans, requires that the abortion pill be distributed only in person at clinics.
“Each abortion facilitated by the FDA’s action nullifies Louisiana’s ban on medical abortions and undermines its policy that ‘every unborn child is a human being from the moment of conception and is therefore a legal person,’” the ruling states.
Since the 2022 Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade and allowed the implementation of abortion bans, mail-order prescriptions have become a primary avenue for providing abortions, even in those states where such bans apply.
(FDA approves another generic version of the abortion pill mifepristone)
“This will affect patient access to both abortion and miscarriage care in every state in the nation,” said Julia Kaye, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
“When telemedicine is restricted, rural communities, low-income people, people with disabilities, survivors of intimate partner violence, and communities of color suffer the most,” Kaye said.
