Supreme Court extends order maintaining abortion pill access

Four years of cancellation Roe v. Wadethe Supreme Court has thrown a lifeline to abortion providers and patients – albeit temporary.

The judges on Thursday — half an hour after their self-imposed deadline of 5 p.m. – extended the High Court break on a lower court ruling overturning the availability of the abortion drug mifepristone, indefinitely preserving online and mail-order access to the most common abortion method while lower federal judges work through the thorny legal issues at stake.

Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented.

The Supreme Court’s order blocks the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals for now. decision earlier this month which granted Louisiana’s request to reimpose a pre-2021 requirement that patients only obtain mifepristone in person from a doctor.

“The status quo that has been in place across the country for more than five years will remain the state of affairs while this legal issue is considered by the courts over the coming months,” said ACLU senior attorney Julia Kaye.