Drugmaker files emergency appeal to restore access to mail-order abortion pill mifepristone

A pharmaceutical company that makes the abortion pill mifepristone asked the Supreme Court on Saturday to block Friday’s lower court ruling that prohibited telehealth and mail access to the drug nationwide. Danco Laboratories, LLC filed an emergency motion with the 5th Circuit seeking a one-week pause on the ruling through Friday to allow time to appeal to the Supreme Court. The company cited “immediate chaos” and “irreparable harm,” noting in its filing that “it is now unclear whether pharmacies nationwide may still dispense mifepristone to women tonight.” It is seeking an “immediate administrative stay” on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling while the case makes its way through the appeals process. Danco is not the only manufacturer of mifepristone; GenBioPro manufactures a generic form of mifepristone and is also a defendant in the case. A three-judge panel unanimously sided with Louisiana on Friday in a case against the Food and Drug Administration, issuing a temporary nationwide injunction that reinstates a 2021 requirement that the abortion pill be prescribed and dispensed in person. Misoprostol, the second drug in the two-step regimen, is not affected by the ruling but is considered less effective on its own. The district court judge