Supreme Court temporarily extends access to abortion pill while it mulls legal challenge

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday maintained full access to the abortion pill mifepristone while it continues to mull how to rule in a case that could limit availability of the drug.

The court on May 4, via an order issued by Justice Samuel Alito, had provisionally blocked a lower court decision that would have prevented the pill from being administered by mail.

Alito on Monday extended the pause until 5 p.m. on Thursday, giving the court another three days to consider its next steps.

The nationwide availability of mifepristone was cast into jeopardy when the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted Louisiana’s request to void Biden administration rules that allowed the drug to be administered without an in-person meeting with a clinician, meaning it can in theory be mailed anywhere in the country, even in states with strict abortion bans.