Supreme Court allows abortion pill by mail to continue -- for now

Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. issued an order Monday allowing the abortion pill to continue to be available through remote appointments and mail, putting on hold an appeals court decision that had found the FDA botched its approval of the process. Justice Alito, a George W. Bush appointee, issued what’s known as an administrative stay, which blocks a lower court decision for a week while the high court hears more briefings and considers the case more fully. He made the move just three days after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling and two days after two pharmaceutical firms rushed to the high court asking the justices to intervene. The lower court’s ruling upended abortion policy and politics, shoving the perennially thorny issue back to the front burner. “This is a five-alarm crisis for the pro-life movement and for the GOP,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro Life America. At issue is mifepristone, a drug critical to medication abortions, which allows a pregnancy to be terminated without a surgical visit. The drug has been approved for decades but had traditionally required an in-person visit and distribution. The Biden administration’s Food and Drug Administration issued new rules