05.14.2026 / Statement

Access to Abortion Pill Remains in Place, But Patients and Providers Deserve Permanence

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Supreme Court granted the stay of the Fifth Circuit’s decision to block telehealth access to mifepristone until further appellate proceedings are resolved. Since the Dobbs decision, telehealth has become a critical lifeline for those living in states that restrict or ban abortions.

In response to the Supreme Court’s decision to grant the stay, Families USA’s executive director, Anthony Wright, issued the following statement:

“While granting the stay will allow telehealth access to mifepristone for the time being, this also prolongs uncertainty for patients and providers regarding access to this time-sensitive, safe and effective medication.

“With no medical basis for limiting access to mifepristone by mail, the courts are allowing ideology to undermine the integrity of our health system. While the stay offers a temporary reprieve, allowing the Fifth Circuit’s restrictions to take effect would create unnecessary medical and procedural chaos. The burden would fall hardest on people already facing systemic barriers to care: rural communities, people with low incomes, people with disabilities, women experiencing domestic violence who need discreet access to medication, and anyone unable to travel.

“The implications of this case extend far beyond reproductive health care. Americans do not want courts overriding medical expertise or restricting access to FDA-approved medications. If the courts can second-guess the FDA’s judgment on mifepristone — a medication that passed the agency’s gold standard scientific review process — similar rulings could undermine confidence in the FDA and threaten the approval and availability of medications that patients rely on every day.

“For more than two decades, mifepristone has been used safely and effectively. The Supreme Court should follow the science and longstanding medical evidence, rather than politicians seeking to overrule a woman’s personal medical decision made in consultation with her doctor. Restricting access would roll back access to care and would set a dangerous precedent for the courts to substitute their own ideology in place of scientific and medical expertise.

“We are also disappointed that the Supreme Court hasn’t done more to help patients in these moments. The Supreme Court has had the power and opportunity to end all of the uncertainty around access to mifepristone. Instead, patients and providers will be left waiting once again to learn the full and final scope of yet another attack on women’s health at some point in the future. Women deserve stability, clarity and evidence-based care — not constant political interference.”

Families USA has already gone on record decrying the May 1 decision by the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to halt telehealth access and will continue to monitor this case as it is likely to be appealed to the full Supreme Court.