Deadline passes for US Supreme Court to extend order ensuring abortion pill mail delivery

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The U.S. Supreme Court's deadline to extend its pause on a judicial decision that would bar the abortion pill from being prescribed through telemedicine and dispensed by mail passed on Thursday with no public action by the court in a challenge by Louisiana to a federal rule that eased access to the medication.

Justice Samuel Alito had issued two interim orders, on May 4 and May 11, placing the matter on hold, meaning the abortion pill, called mifepristone, could continue to be dispensed by mail for the time being. The last order expired on Thursday at 5 p.m. ET (2100 GMT).

The nine justices are considering a request by two manufacturers of mifepristone to lift a decision by the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to block a 2023 rule issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration during Democratic former President Joe Biden's administration.

The 5th Circuit's May 1 ruling reinstated an older federal requirement that patients receive mifepristone only after an in-person visit with a clinician.

(Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York; Editing by Will Dunham)

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect.

This story was originally published May 14, 2026 at 2:27 PM.