Appeals court temporarily halts mail-order delivery of abortion pill

May 02, 2026

In a 3-0 decision, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily halted one of the most common forms of abortion in the United States: the delivery by mail of the abortion pill mifepristone.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the use of the abortion pill in 2000 and permitted telehealth prescriptions and mail-order delivery in 2023—allowing for the circumvention of state laws that protect unborn human life. The appeals court ruling temporarily restores the FDA’s pre-2023 requirement that the abortion pill be dispensed in person.

“The Biden abortion cartel facilitated the deaths of thousands of Louisiana babies (and millions in other states) through illegal mail-order abortion pills,” said Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, who challenged the FDA’s 2023 expansion of access to the abortion drug. “Today, that nightmare is over.” (During the 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump and JD Vance also expressed their support for mifepristone access.)

Abortion advocacy organizations such as the ACLU and the Guttmacher Institute denounced the appellate court’s decision.

In its 2024 publication “Understanding Chemical Abortion Pills,” the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities noted:

Mifepristone blocks progesterone, a hormone essential to maintaining pregnancy. This leads to the breakdown of the uterine lining and cuts off the child’s supply of oxygen and nutrients. Mifepristone alone will usually kill the developing child, but his or her remains may not be expelled. This can lead to infection, sepsis, and even the mother’s death. Therefore a second pill—misoprostol—is taken 24 to 48 hours later, to induce uterine contractions strong enough to expel the dead child and placenta.

Last month, the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities lent his support to the Safeguarding Women from Chemical Abortion Act, introduced in the House by Rep. Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) and in the Senate by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO). The legislation would ban mifepristone.

 

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Further information:

• State of Louisiana v. Food and Drug Administration (United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 5/1/26)
• 5th Circuit Stays FDA Ruling That Allows Mail Order Delivery of Mifepristone (Religion Clause, 5/1/26)
• Court restricts abortion access across the US by blocking the mailing of mifepristone (AP, 5/1/26)
• 5th Circuit temporarily halts Biden-era abortion-by-mail scheme (Alliance Defending Freedom, 5/1/26)
• Breaking: Victory for Life! (Louisiana Office of the Attorney General, 5/1/26)