"On May 1, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled to block the drug mifepristone from being prescribed virtually and shipped through the mail, making such deliveries illegal across the country. On Monday, the Supreme Court stayed that decision, allowing prescriptions to resume until the court issues an emergency ruling next week. Mifepristone is the first half of a two-drug protocol for medication abortion, which made up 63% of all legal abortions in the U.S. in 2023."
"Between a quarter and a third of those abortions are now prescribed by healthcare providers over the internet and delivered by mail - a path Louisiana and other ban states are fighting to bar. "Abortion access has gone up with all the telehealth providers," Gomez said. "We uncovered an unmet need." But the cocktail's second ingredient, misoprostol, can be used to produce abortion on its own - a method that's often more painful and slightly less effective."
"Dr. Michele Gomez, co-founder of the MYA Network, a consortium of virtual reproductive healthcare providers, said the supply chain is "ready to switch in a day" to an alternative drug combination. "It's not going away and it's not going to slow down," Gomez said. It would be easy for suppliers to switch to a misoprostol-only protocol - and much harder for courts to block it, experts said."
"After the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade in 202"
A Supreme Court action has temporarily allowed virtual prescriptions and mail delivery of mifepristone to continue while further emergency review is pending. Mifepristone is the first drug in a two-drug medication abortion protocol used in most legal abortions in the United States. A significant share of abortions are now handled through online providers with mailed medications, including in states seeking to prohibit this delivery method. Providers report that supply chains can switch quickly to alternative drug combinations, and some already began mailing misoprostol after earlier legal developments. Misoprostol-only protocols can be used without mifepristone, though they may be more painful and slightly less effective.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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