Health
Supreme Court gives abortion pill mifepristone a 1-week reprieve from a major change May 4, 202612:15 PM ET
A woman dressed as a mifepristone pill is at rally outside the US Supreme Court on April 2, 2025. Drew Angerer/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
toggle caption Drew Angerer/AFP via Getty ImagesSupreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on Monday put a one-week hold on major changes to how the abortion pill mifepristone can be prescribed.
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On Friday, an appeals court had said the Food and Drug Administration needed to revert to rules that the pills, part of a two-drug regimen for medication abortion, must be prescribed only in-person. The change was effective immediately for the whole country.
The appeals court order meant that mifepristone could not be prescribed via telehealth or sent through the mail; Alito's order reverses that for one week.
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Alito responded to a request for emergency relief filed by the two companies that make mifepristone. He blocked the appeals court's decision from going into effect until next Monday, May 11, at 5 p.m.
Alito also asked all the parties in the ongoing lawsuit brought by the state of Louisiana to file briefs by Thursday, May 7, at 5 pm.
