Supreme Court temporarily extends access to mail-order mifepristone

The drug will continue to be available at pharmacies or through mail, and it can be obtained without an in-person visit to a doctor.

Justice Samuel Alitoʼs order on May 11 extended access to the abortion pill mifepristone until at least 5 p.m. ET May 14 while the court considers next steps.

The drug will continue to be available at pharmacies or through mail, and it can be obtained without an in-person visit to a doctor.

The order follows the May 4 decision by the Supreme Court to temporarily block a lower court order requiring in‑person dispensing of mifepristone after two manufacturers asked the justices to intervene, prompting Alito to issue an administrative stay that restored mail‑order access until May 11.

The deadline prompted the extension as the court continues to weigh its decision, which could bring another extension, allow the restrictions to take effect, or prompt the justices to take up the case in full.

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ordered a review of the abortion drug mifepristone in May 2025, which is ongoing. Activists, lawmakers, and state attorneys general have also been calling on the FDA to do a safety review of the drug, citing severe risks to women’s health.

Medication abortions, which rely on mifepristone and misoprostol, accounted for 63% of U.S. abortions in 2023, according to the Guttmacher Institute. The number of actual abortions might be higher due to underreporting, according to the organization, which was affiliated with Planned Parenthood until 2007.

“Chemical abortion has a complication rate four times greater than surgical abortion,” according to one study. Another report found that medication abortion complications are often underreported or misclassified.

A recent study by the Ethics and Public Policy Center also highlighted the dangers of lifting the requirement for an in-person visit with a doctor. It found that the removal of in-person visits led to an increase in adverse effects for women having drug-induced abortions.