Justice Samuel Alito of the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday extended his temporary order that allows continued access to abortion drugs via the mail.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on May 1 granted Louisiana’s and Rosie Markezich’s request in Louisiana v. FDA to halt the FDA’s abortion drug mail-order policy nationwide. The Supreme Court, however, temporarily blocked the ruling after abortion drug manufacturers filed an appeal in the case.
The initial temporary order was to expire on May 11, but Justice Alito kept the order in place, set to expire on Thursday.
Pro-lifers question the safety of mifepristone, which can be prescribed through telemedicine and sent through the mail. The FDA expanded access to the drug when it approved a generic version. The FDA has not evaluated the drug’s safety since it was approved in 2000.
Louisiana is one of a few states that filed lawsuits against the FDA. The state, which bans medical abortions, has categorized mifepristone (starves baby) and misoprostol (expels baby) as controlled substances.
Photo credit: Robin Marty (Creative Commons) – Some rights reserved
