Supreme Court temporarily restores access to abortion pill by mail

The Supreme Court has temporarily blocked a federal appeals court ruling that would have required patients to obtain the abortion pill mifepristone in person, granting a one-week stay through May 11 while it considers the case. The order pauses a decision from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals that reinstated nationwide in-person dispensing requirements, a move that would have effectively shut down telehealth prescriptions and mail delivery of the drug. Those remote options have become widely used since the fall of Roe v. Wade in 2022. The 5th Circuit ruling marked the first major legal victory for anti-abortion advocates targeting medication abortion, which now accounts for roughly two-thirds of all abortions in the U.S. Teenagers in particular rely on telehealth services to obtain abortion drugs, with requests more than tripling among adolescents since June 2022.