A federal appeals court panel said Wednesday it will impose restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone that would prevent the drug from being prescribed by telemedicine or dispensed by mail.
But the ruling — the latest development in a closely watched lawsuit filed by abortion opponents seeking to block access to abortion pills — won’t take effect until the Supreme Court ultimately rules on the case.
In a ruling this spring, the high court said mifepristone should remain available under current rules until the appeals process is over.
In its ruling, a three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit upheld part of a ruling issued in April by a federal judge in Texas. That ruling, by Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, invalidated the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the pill 23 years ago.
But Wednesday’s appeals court ruling kept the FDA’s approval in place. It also holds back the later approval of the generic version of the drug, which is now used in most drug abortions.
The main effect of the appeals court decision, if it is upheld by the Supreme Court, will be to reverse changes made by the FDA in recent years that allowed patients to take the pill without visiting a doctor or other another health provider in person. This means patients have to make three medical visits and cannot receive pills in the mail.
The ability of patients to use telemedicine and obtain prescription pills by mail has greatly expanded the use of medication abortion, which is now used in more than half of pregnancy terminations in the United States.
