The company that makes the abortion drug mifepristone asked the US Supreme Court on Saturday for a stay on Friday. decision of the lower court which cut off the availability of over-the-counter prescription pills nationwide, including in states where abortion is legal.
Urgent appealis asking the high court to temporarily reinstate a federal policy that allows pills to be ordered online and delivered by mail, saying that not doing so could cause “immediate chaos” and leave patients nationwide in limbo.
Pharmaceutical company Danco asked for an immediate stay while the case works its way through the lower courts. Meanwhile, it asked the Supreme Court to immediately deal with the matter and hear the arguments before its summer break.
Danco first asked the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday nightto impose a one-week restrictionfor its own decision that reinstated the previous US Food and Drug Administration policy that mandated that patients obtain the pill individually from a doctor — a decision that the company noted “renders an agency action ineffective that has already worked for years.”
The court ruled 3-0 in favor of an argument from Louisiana that Biden-era regulations on prescription drugs that expanded access online and by mail threatened the safety of pregnant women and the freedom of Louisiana, which has banned abortion in almost all circumstances.
When the court did not respond to the companies’ request, Danco turned to the Supreme Court for relief, saying that “great uncertainty will surround the legal status of mifepristone across the country” unless the high court intervenes.
GenBioPro, another maker of mifepristone, is expected to file its appeal soon.
Even a temporary interruption of mifepristone availability will have a significant impact. Medicines are used inabout two thirdsof all abortions, and aquarter of patientsthey rely on telehealth to get them. The ruling also prohibits telemedicine prescriptions for non-abortion purposes, such as termination of pregnancy.
Following Friday’s decision, medical advocacy and development groups stressed that doctors can still use telehealth to prescribe another abortion pill – misoprostol. The drug can be used on its own to terminate a pregnancy and carries fewer restrictions because it is used for other purposes, including treating ulcers and stopping bleeding.
“Extremists’ attempts to block access to abortion have not succeeded in ending the pill-to-mail model of safe abortion care, and this court decision will not block access either,” said Elisa Wells, co-founder of the website Plan C, which provides information on how to obtain abortion pills regardless of state bans.
Still, while the parties waited for the judges to intervene, the 5th Circuit’s decision reverberated through the pharmaceutical industry. Biotech industry leaders, several of thempreviously urged the FDA to stay the courseon mifepristone and not allowing political and ideological forces to influence drug regulation, warned of the worst effect of abortion.
“By circumventing the FDA’s regulatory authority, this decision threatens the evidence-based system that has provided generations of Americans with access to safe and innovative medicines,” said Shehnaaz Suliman, CEO of ReCode Therapeutics. “The integrity of the process is not procedural — it’s in the best interests of public health.”
The decision, industry leaders have warned, could invite challenges to any other drug that interest groups oppose — from hormones for trans patients to substance abuse treatment to vaccines.
“I am deeply invested in ensuring that health care policy remains science-based, supports innovation, and protects patient access,” said Julia Owens, CEO of Basking Biosciences Inc. “Decisions like this risk undermining all priorities.”
