politics
Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks 5th Circuit Ruling on Mifepristone Telemedicine
The Supreme Court on May 5, 2026, placed a one-week hold on a 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision blocking nationwide telemedicine prescriptions for mifepristone. Louisiana urged the justices to lift the hold while the Department of Justice filed no brief by the May 7 deadline. The case centers on FDA rules changed during the COVID-19 pandemic that now account for one quarter of all U.S.
May 7, 6:39 PM·2m read3 sources
Los Angeles TimesAudio version
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The Supreme Court on May 8, 2026, issued a one-week administrative stay that prevents a May 1, 2026, ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit from taking effect while the justices consider emergency applications filed by two mifepristone manufacturers.
The 5th Circuit had blocked the FDA’s 2023 telemedicine rules that allow mifepristone to be prescribed without an in-person visit and dispensed by mail.
Louisiana urged the Supreme Court to allow the 5th Circuit’s order to go into effect immediately. In a brief filed May 7, 2026, the state argued that the telemedicine policy injures Louisiana by undermining its abortion laws and forcing the state to spend Medicaid funds on emergency-room care for complications, according to court filings summarized by multiple outlets.
The Department of Justice, representing the FDA, did not file a brief by the May 7 deadline. “It’s wild that DOJ is taking no position on whether a federal regulation should or should not be blocked for the duration of this case,” Steve Vladeck stated in the Reason.com report.
The FDA approved mifepristone in 2000 with a requirement that patients receive it in person at a clinic or doctor’s office. During the COVID-19 pandemic the agency began allowing the drug to be dispensed at pharmacies or through the mail; it formalized that change in 2023.
Louisiana became the first state to schedule mifepristone as a controlled substance and the first to criminally indict an out-of-state physician for providing telemedicine abortion. Last fall Louisiana sued the FDA, contending that the telemedicine policy interferes with its strict abortion ban.
A district court had placed Louisiana’s challenge on hold in April 2026. The 5th Circuit then heard the appeal and issued its nationwide block on May 1. Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan wrote a 19-page opinion stating that the telemedicine access injures Louisiana by undermining its laws and causing it to spend Medicaid funds on emergency care.
