Federal Appeals Court Rules on Abortion Pill Mailings
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Upholds Restrictions on Mailing and Prescribing Abortion Pill
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals made a significant ruling on Wednesday regarding the distribution of the chemical abortion drug mifepristone. In a decision that awaits the Supreme Court’s final ruling, the appeals court stated that the drug should not be distributed through the mail or prescribed via telemedicine.
The appeals court’s ruling falls short of U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s previous decision to suspend the FDA’s approval of mifepristone. However, it does reinstate regulations on mailing and prescribing the pill, which is used in up to half of all abortions.
“The 5th Circuit rightly required the FDA to do its job and restore crucial safeguards for women and girls, including ending illegal mail-order abortions,” said Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Erin Hawley.
Hawley, who helped represent those who sued FDA officials to stop the distribution of the drug, added, “The FDA will finally be made to account for the damage it has caused to the health of countless women and girls and the rule of law by unlawfully removing every meaningful safeguard from the chemical abortion drug regimen.”
The decision was made by three judges, two of whom were appointed by former President Donald Trump and one by former President George Bush. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the case in its upcoming fall session, after previously putting a stay on Kacsmaryk’s decision to suspend approval for the pill.
The ruling has been met with celebration from pro-life organizations and criticism from pro-abortion groups.
“Today’s ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reinstating these basic safeguards and stopping the dangerous practice of mail-order abortions is a first step towards reprioritizing women’s health over the interests of the abortion industry and its allies within our profession,” stated the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, a plaintiff in the case.
Planned Parenthood Federation of America President Alexis McGill Johnson expressed concern, stating that the ruling “makes it clear that mifepristone’s approval is very much still at risk, as is the FDA’s independence.”
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