NEW ORLEANS — A panel of the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday blocked the mailing of prescriptions for the abortion pill mifepristone, requiring that the pill be distributed only in person at clinics. The decision stems from a lawsuit brought by the state of Louisiana.

In their ruling, the judges wrote that "Every abortion facilitated by FDA's action cancels Louisiana's ban on medical abortions and undermines its policy that 'every unborn child is human being from the moment of conception and is, therefore, a legal person.'" Addressing the agency's ongoing safety review, the panel added that "The FDA could not say when that review might be complete and admitted it was still collecting data."

FDA officials under President Donald Trump have repeatedly stated the agency is conducting a new review of mifepristone's safety at the direction of the president. In a court filing, Louisiana's attorney general and a woman who says she was coerced into taking abortion pills requested that FDA rules be rolled back to when mifepristone could only be prescribed and dispensed in person. A Louisiana-based federal judge last month ruled that the in-person prescribing and dispensing allowances for mifepristone undermined the state's abortion ban but stopped short of undoing the regulations immediately.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said: "The Biden-era rule facilitated the deaths of thousands of Louisiana babies and millions in other states. I look forward to continuing to defend women and babies as this case continues."

Julia Kaye, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, said: "For countless people, especially those who live in rural areas, face intimate partner violence, or live with disabilities, losing a telemedicine option will mean losing access to this vital medication altogether. This decision defies clear science and settled law and advances an anti-abortion agenda that is deeply unpopular with the American people."

Mini Timmaraju, President and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All, said the case would be appealed. "Anti-abortion politicians know their policies are unpopular, so they are using every lever of government they can," Timmaraju said. She added: "Louisiana built this case on debunked, junk science. The safety of mifepristone has never actually been in question. As this case moves towards the U.S. Supreme Court, we will fight until every person has access to the care they need."

Mifepristone was first approved by the FDA in September 2000 for medical termination of pregnancy through seven weeks of gestation, and is typically used in combination with misoprostol to end early pregnancies. The FDA extended the approved use to 10 weeks in 2016 and permanently lifted the in-person dispensing requirement in 2023, allowing the medication to be sent by mail. The Supreme Court in 2024 unanimously preserved access to mifepristone while ruling that the anti-abortion doctors behind that case lacked legal standing to sue.

Since the Supreme Court's 2022 ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed enforcement of abortion bans, prescriptions by mail have become a major way that abortions are provided, including to states where bans are in place. Twenty-two states have shield laws that provide civil and criminal protections for healthcare providers who assist patients from states with restrictive abortion laws.