Supreme Court Allows Telehealth and Mail Access to Mifepristone for Now The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday temporarily upheld the availability of the abortion pill mifepristone through telehealth visits, preserving access for women while Louisiana’s legal challenge to its distribution continues in lower courts. The decision, issued nearly an hour after an earlier administrative stay on the drug’s access expired, paused a May 1 ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that had mandated in-person visits for the medication. The high court’s order did not specify its reasoning or disclose the vote count, though Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito issued dissents. The ruling comes amid a contentious legal battle over mifepristone, a drug used in medication abortions, which has become central to abortion rights debates since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Louisiana, a conservative state with a strict abortion ban, filed a lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) over its 2023 policy allowing telehealth access to mifepristone. The state argued the regulation undermined its laws and posed risks to public health. A federal district court in April partially supported Louisiana’s claim, ruling the FDA’s policy arbitrary due to insufficient safety data, but blocked its immediate enforcement to allow the agency time to review the drug. The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals then issued an emergency stay in late April, requiring in-person visits for mifepristone, which triggered widespread chaos among medical providers and patients. The Supreme Court’s intervention halted that order, returning the case to the 5th Circuit for further review.#fda #supreme_court #louisiana #5th_circuit_court_of_appeals #mifepristone
Dr. Marty Makary is out as FDA commissioner The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced the resignation of Dr. Marty Makary as its commissioner, marking the fourth major departure from the Trump administration this year. According to two individuals familiar with the decision, Makary’s exit follows months of tension and dissatisfaction with his leadership at the agency. The move comes amid ongoing scrutiny of the FDA’s regulatory decisions and its alignment with the administration’s priorities. Makary’s departure was linked to his handling of several high-profile issues, including the agency’s authorization of fruit-flavored vapes for adult use. This decision, announced by the FDA last Tuesday, was the result of sustained pressure from the vaping industry and President Donald Trump, who had made the resumption of fruit-flavored e-cigarettes a key part of his 2024 campaign. The approval of these products has drawn criticism from public health advocates, who argue that such flavors contribute to youth vaping rates. Another point of contention was Makary’s handling of the FDA’s review of mifepristone, the abortion medication commonly known as the "abortion pill." During his confirmation process, Makary had pledged to conduct a safety review of the drug, a promise that drew attention from Republican lawmakers. These lawmakers had sought to reverse a Biden-era rule that allowed mifepristone to be mailed and dispensed via telehealth, not just in-person. The Supreme Court recently temporarily allowed mifepristone to remain accessible nationwide after a lower court restricted its use to in-person patients.#food_and_drug_administration #dr_marty_makary #johns_hopkins_hospital #johns_hopkins_school_of_medicine #mifepristone
