WASHINGTON, USA — Danco Laboratories, a maker of the abortion drug mifepristone, asked the Supreme Court on Saturday, May 2, 2026, to temporarily block a federal appeals court ruling that cut off telehealth and mail access to the medication nationwide.
The emergency application followed a unanimous ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, which reinstated an earlier requirement that patients obtain mifepristone in person from a medical provider.
The order applies across the country, including in states where abortion remains legal.
Danco asked the justices for an immediate administrative stay while the case continues, arguing that the lower court’s order would create widespread uncertainty for patients, pharmacies and clinicians.
Company Warns of “Immediate Chaos”
In its emergency filing, Danco said the appeals court had disrupted a federal policy that had been in place for years, allowing mifepristone to be prescribed through telehealth and sent by mail.
The company first asked the Fifth Circuit on Friday night to pause its own order for one week.
After the court did not immediately act, Danco turned to the Supreme Court.
The company argued that without intervention, “tremendous uncertainty will surround the legal status of mifepristone throughout the country.”
GenBioPro, another manufacturer of mifepristone, is expected to file its own appeal.
Fifth Circuit Sides With Louisiana
The case was brought by Louisiana, which challenged Food and Drug Administration rules that expanded access to mifepristone by allowing remote prescribing and mail delivery.
Louisiana argued that the policy threatened women’s safety and interfered with the state’s abortion restrictions.
The Fifth Circuit agreed to pause the FDA rule while the case proceeds.
The decision reversed a lower court order that had allowed the policy to remain in place while the Trump administration conducted a safety review of mifepristone.
The ruling requires mifepristone to be dispensed in person, limiting access by telehealth and mail.
Abortion Access and Miscarriage Care
Mifepristone is commonly used with misoprostol in medication abortion and is also used in miscarriage management.
Medication abortion accounts for more than 60 per cent of abortions in the United States, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
Advocacy groups said the decision would affect patients who rely on telehealth services, including those living far from clinics.
Some groups noted that misoprostol can still be prescribed through telehealth and used on its own in abortion care, though it is a different regimen.
Elisa Wells, co-founder of Plan C, said the ruling would not end pills-by-mail abortion care.
“Extremist attempts to limit access to abortion have not been successful at stopping the pills-by-mail model of safe abortion care, and this court decision will also not stop access,” she said.
Pharmaceutical Industry Raises Broader Concerns
The ruling also drew concern from biotechnology executives, who warned that courts were intruding into the FDA’s scientific and regulatory authority.
“By circumventing the FDA’s regulatory authority, this ruling threatens the evidence-based framework that has enabled generations of Americans to access safe, innovative medicines,” said Shehnaaz Suliman, chief executive of ReCode Therapeutics.
Julia Owens, chief executive of Basking Biosciences Inc., said such decisions risk undermining science-based health policy, innovation and patient access.
Wider Legal Fight
The Supreme Court previously rejected a separate challenge to mifepristone access in 2024, ruling that the plaintiffs in that case lacked standing.
The current case, brought by Louisiana, presents a new path for opponents of abortion access because it is led by a state rather than private medical groups.
The justices will now decide whether to pause the Fifth Circuit’s order while the broader dispute continues in the lower courts.
