From NPR.

The U.S. Supreme Court has restored access, temporarily, to a drug used for medical abortions.

The move comes after two drug companies asked the court to block a lower court decision restricting access to the drug mifepristone through the mail after a telemedicine consultation with a doctor, threatening one of the main ways abortion is provided across the nation. In their request to reverse that decision, the drug companies say the appeals court decision had “unleashed regulatory chaos.”

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, prescriptions by mail have become a major way that abortions are provided — including to states where bans are in place. In their ruling last week, the appellate court found that the prescriptions by mail circumvented an abortion ban in Louisiana. But the ruling has the potential to affect the whole country.

Check out NPR News Now wherever you listen to podcasts for more of today’s news.

——————————————————

Follow NPR elsewhere, too:
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/npr/
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@npr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NPR