A federal court issued a ruling today that temporarily blocked mail-order abortions and, if ultimately upheld, could save tens of thousands of babies from abortions.
The federal appeals court temporarily blocked a Biden administration rule allowing the abortion drug mifepristone to be dispensed through the mail, a victory for pro-life advocates working to protect women and unborn children from unregulated chemical abortions that bypass state laws protecting babies from abortions.
A panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ruled Friday that Louisiana would likely succeed in its challenge to the federal policy eliminating the longstanding in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone. The temporary order significantly curtails access to the drug nationwide and particularly in states that have banned abortion.
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The ruling follows a request from Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill for the appeals court to issue a stay or injunction halting the policy.
Murrill said: “I have asked the Fifth Circuit to stay the Biden Administration’s unlawful removal of the in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone. As the district court concluded, Louisiana is likely to win this case and is suffering irreparable harm. Louisiana will always stand for life.”
A lower court had previously determined that Louisiana is likely to prevail on claims that federal agencies acted unlawfully in loosening safety restrictions on the drug but paused immediate action while the FDA completed a safety review.
Despite Louisiana’s 2022 ban on abortion following the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade, roughly 1,000 abortions per month have continued in the state through out-of-state telehealth prescriptions and mailed pills, killing hundreds of babies and injuring women.
Nationwide, more than 91,000 abortions were obtained by mail in pro-life states last year.
Pro-life leaders have warned that the mail-order system endangers women by bypassing medical oversight for serious complications while enabling the destruction of unborn children without accountability. The temporary block restores the previous requirement that mifepristone be dispensed in person.
