Maine Providers Welcome Continued Access to Abortion Pill After US Supreme Court Decision
The justices left FDA rules in place for now, preserving telehealth prescriptions and mailing access for an abortion pill used in nearly two-thirds of U.S. abortions.
- On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that mifepristone can remain accessible via telehealth and mail, blocking a lower-court order restricting the drug's distribution nationwide.
- Louisiana challenged the Food and Drug Administration's approval of telehealth prescribing, arguing remote access undermines its strict abortion ban; the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals suspended the regulation in response.
- Since the Food and Drug Administration lifted restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for telehealth abortion has surged; roughly one-quarter of all abortions in the United States are now prescribed via telehealth.
- Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented, with Thomas arguing the 1873 Comstock Act prohibits mailing abortion medications while Alito accused the court of "perpetrat a scheme to undermine" the 2022 Dobbs ruling.
- The legal battle continues in lower courts, as providers including Helen Weems of All Families Healthcare maintain the fight for access persists and litigation will likely return to the Supreme Court.
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Central Maine News
Portland Press HeraldMaine providers welcome continued access to abortion pill after US Supreme Court decision
In the first half of 2025, 27% of all abortions in Maine — whether prescription or in-person procedures — were provided via telehealth.
Supreme Court Allows Providers to Continue Telehealth Access to Abortion Pill as Legal Battle Continues
Family planning specialists saw some relief Thursday when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that telehealth access to mifepristone would be permitted for the time being. Remote access to the common abortion medication has been up in the air since a federal appeals court sought to roll back nationwide access to the drug on May 1. The Supreme Court placed the lower court’s ruling on hold until May 14 after drug manufacturers appealed the decision. “It …
Supreme Court preserves access to abortion drug via telehealth – at least for now
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that patients can continue to get mifepristone, one of the two drugs used for medication abortion, via telehealth and by mail. A lower court had temporarily blocked this access nationwide in early May. The case now returns to that lower court, but it may end up back before the Supreme Court in the future.
Whiplash over remote access to abortion medication nationwide • West Virginia Watch
Stories From The States is a weekly podcast from States Newsroom that explores, through personal stories, how people and communities across America are being affected by government decisions. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts. It’s still uncertain if an abortion medication can be prescribed over telehealth. Mifepristone is one of two drugs used to terminate a pregnancy before 10 weeks and to treat miscarriages, but could require an in-p…
SCOTUS temporarily keeps abortion pill access
What happenedThe U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday preserved access to mifepristone, a common mail-order abortion drug. The decision, which extends a pause on a lower court’s ruling while a Louisiana lawsuit on the issue plays out, means women can continue to order the pills through telehealth communications without seeing a doctor in person. Conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented.Who said whatThis decision is “remarkable”…
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