Tipsheet

Biden-Era Abortion Pill Mailing Rule Temporarily Suspended by Appeals Court

Scott McClallen
Scott McClallen  |  May 01, 2026 6:30 PM

A federal appeals court in Louisiana has temporarily blocked a Biden-era federal rule that allowed an abortion drug called mifepristone to be sent via mail.

On May 1, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay that temporarily blocked the mailing of the abortion drug while litigation proceeds. 

The state of Louisiana had sued the Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and DHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to stop the rule enacted during the Biden administration. 

The Biden FDA had allowed the abortion drug to be prescribed online and mailed without an in-person doctor visit. 

Louisiana sued over the rule under the Administrative Procedure Act. The state said that the FDA approved the mail-order drug based on flawed or missing data, which caused many illegal abortions in the state. 

Taxpayers picked up the tab to care for women who were harmed by mifepristone, court documents said. 

“By ending the in-person dispensing requirement, FDA opened the door for mifepristone to be remotely prescribed to Louisiana women,” the ruling says. “The record shows that the policy now facilitates nearly 1,000 illegal abortions in Louisiana per month.”

The appeals court said that the FDA’s 2023 law interferes with Louisiana law and gives it standing to challenge the law. 

The lawsuit says that Medicaid paid $92,000 from two women who needed emergency care in 2025 caused by complications from out-of-state mifepristone. 


 2026-05-01-  by  scott.mcclallen