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California-based abortion pill suppliers are reportedly preparing backup plans in case the Supreme Court restricts access to mifepristone, as the justices consider whether to limit mailing of the controversial drug.
The Supreme Court has not set a timeline for a final decision in Louisiana v. FDA, but it faces a deadline of May 11, when its temporary pause on a lower-court ruling is set to expire unless the justices act.
That ruling from the Fifth Circuit would roll back more recent FDA changes and reinstate older requirements that mifepristone be dispensed in person, effectively blocking telehealth prescriptions and mail distribution of the drug nationwide. Justice Samuel Alito issued the temporary administrative stay blocking that ruling from taking effect while the Supreme Court considers next steps.
Mifepristone is now used in nearly two-thirds of all U.S. abortions, and with the legal future of sending it by mail uncertain, California suppliers are already pivoting.
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Mifepristone tablets are displayed inside a Planned Parenthood clinic in Ames, Iowa, on July 18, 2024. (Charlie Neibergall/AP)
Supply chains in the Golden State are “ready to switch in a day” to alternative abortion drugs, Dr. Michele Gomez, co-founder of the MYA Network, a group seeking to “normalize abortion care,” told the Los Angeles Times.
“It’s not going away, and it’s not going to slow down,” she said of abortion.
At the center of the supply chain pivot is misoprostol, which is also used in concert with mifepristone to form the cocktail used in the majority of U.S. abortions. But some health officials assess that using misoprostol alone is less effective and comes with a higher risk of side effects.
A packet of Misoprostol abortion pills is shown in a close-up image. (SERGEI GAPON/AFP via Getty Images)
“Mifepristone with misoprostol is more effective than misoprostol used alone, and is associated with fewer side-effects,” according to the World Health Organization.
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Despite the elevated risk factors, suppliers are ready to ship the backup drug.
U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito testifies about the court’s budget during a House Appropriations Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on March 7, 2019. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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“We heard about this on Friday and organizations that mail pills were mailing misoprostol on Saturday,” Gomez told the Times. “They already knew what to do.”
On May 1, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Louisiana in ruling that the FDA overstepped its authority by allowing abortion pills to be sent by mail from states where they are legal to states where they are not. Alito issued a temporary stay on that ruling, but that freeze expires May 11.
Fox News Digital contacted the MYA Network and the FDA for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
