(SeaPRwire) –   A federal appeals court issued a ban on Friday against mailing the commonly prescribed abortion medication mifepristone, representing a significant setback for reproductive rights nationwide.

The unanimous decision from the Fifth Circuit temporarily brought back a rule requiring the drug to be dispensed in person, overturning a 2021 FDA policy that permitted prescriptions through telehealth and mail delivery.

Attorneys general from several states contended that the mail-order system circumvented state-level abortion prohibitions and that the drug should only be available through in-person visits at clinics.

“The regulation creates an effective way for an out-of-state prescriber to place the drug in the hands of Louisianans in defiance of Louisiana law,” wrote Circuit Judge Kyle Duncan, of the New Orleans-based court.

The ban will be challenged at the Supreme Court

Following the ruling, Danco Laboratories, a maker of the pill, petitioned the Supreme Court on Saturday to restore mail access, setting the stage for what could be a major abortion-related ruling since the Dobbs decision, which ended the federal right to abortion and gave the power to regulate it back to the states.

After the reversal of Roe v. Wade, approximately 25% of abortions are conducted through telehealth. If the Supreme Court upholds the ban, patient access to the procedure would be further reduced.

“We are alarmed by this court’s decision to ignore the FDA’s rigorous science and decades of safe use of mifepristone in a case pursued by extremist abortion opponents,” said Evan Masingill, CEO of GenBioPro, one of the companies that manufactures mifepristone, in a statement.

Data from the Guttmacher Institute shows that medication abortions made up 63% of all abortions in U.S. states without complete bans in 2023. This figure was significantly higher in certain rural states, including Wyoming (95%) and Montana (84%).

The widespread use of medication abortion has positioned mifepristone as a focal point for anti-abortion groups following the overturn of Roe. The drug, which is used in combination with another medication for the most frequent method of medication abortion, received FDA approval in 2000. The Supreme Court previously rejected a challenge to the drug earlier in 2024.

Over the past two decades, the FDA has repeatedly addressed and refuted safety issues related to the drug, citing studies that show a 99.6% success rate in ending pregnancies.

A response to protections introduced by Democrats

After the Dobbs decision led to the elimination of abortion access in numerous states, states with Democratic leadership enacted shield laws to safeguard providers who prescribe and mail pills to patients in states where abortion is illegal. Louisiana is among several Republican-led states where attorneys general are attempting to eliminate this avenue of care.

A potential Supreme Court ruling could significantly influence telehealth restrictions in Idaho, Kansas, and Missouri. Separately, Florida and Texas are considering proposals to prohibit mifepristone entirely.

Concurrently, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the Trump Administration, led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is undertaking a review of its mifepristone regulations. The FDA initially requested the courts to delay the case pending the outcome of its review. A district court approved this request, halting any abrupt changes to the pill’s availability. Louisiana quickly appealed the district court’s decision to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The American Civil Liberties Union, meanwhile, characterized the review as a “thinly veiled attempt to lay the groundwork for additional medically unjustified restrictions” on the drug.