Episode Details

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals just issued a nationwide stay of the FDA’s 2023 rules allowing mifepristone to be prescribed via telehealth and mailed to patients, effective immediately. This is a nationwide ruling covering every state, not just Louisiana.

Mifepristone accounts for roughly two thirds of all abortions in the United States. Telehealth accounts for about one in four abortions. The ruling comes from a lawsuit filed by Louisiana AG Liz Murrill challenging the FDA’s 2023 rules. A district court previously refused to block the rules while the FDA completed its safety review. Murrill went to the Fifth Circuit, which granted her motion.

The opinion was written by Trump-appointed Judge Kyle Duncan. The court said Louisiana was suffering irreparable harm because approximately 1,000 abortions were occurring in Louisiana every month through telehealth. The state cited $92,000 in Medicaid costs for two patients to justify a nationwide ban.

Women who cannot afford to travel, live in rural areas, cannot take time off work, cannot find childcare, or live in abusive households just lost access today - on May Day, while hundreds of thousands of Americans marched for workers’ rights.

The ruling is temporary while the case continues and reproductive rights organizations are already preparing challenges.

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Link to AP article Here