Court Restricts Abortion Access Across U.S. by Blocking the Mailing of Mifepristone

A federal appeals court has restricted access to one of the most common means of abortion in the U.S. by blocking mailing of mifepristone prescriptions. The unanimous ruling Friday from a three-judge panel of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals requires that the abortion pill be distributed only in person and at clinics, overruling regulations set by the FDA. The ruling, which is likely to be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, is the biggest jolt to abortion policy in the U.S. since the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed states to enforce abortion bans. In the ruling, Judge Kyle Duncan, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, agreed with the state of Louisiana's contention that allowing the drug to be mailed there makes moot the state's ban on abortion at all stages of pregnancy. "Every abortion facilitated by FDA's action cancels Louisiana's ban on medical abortions and undermines its policy that 'every unborn child is human being from the moment of conception and is, therefore, a legal person,'" the ruling states. Mifepristone is involved in most abortions in the U.S. It was approved in 2000 as a safe and effective way