health
Appeals court blocks mailing of abortion pill mifepristone in U.S.
A federal appeals court on Friday restricted access to one of the most common means of abortion in the U.S. by blocking mailing of prescriptions of mifepristone.
TL;DR
- A federal appeals court has blocked the mailing of mifepristone prescriptions.
- The ruling requires the abortion pill to be distributed only in person at clinics.
- The court stated the current regulation allows out-of-state prescribers to defy Louisiana law.
- The FDA's regulations on mifepristone have been challenged by Louisiana's attorney general and a plaintiff.
- Mail prescriptions for mifepristone have become a significant method for abortions since the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
- The ruling may be appealed to the Supreme Court, which previously preserved access to mifepristone.
- Mifepristone was approved in 2000 and is typically used with misoprostol to end early pregnancies.
- Originally, strict limits were imposed on prescribing and distributing mifepristone, but these were eased during the COVID-19 pandemic.