A federal judge on Tuesday declined to halt the mailing of mifepristone prescriptions across the United States, dealing a blow to Louisiana’s efforts to restrict groups from sending the abortion pill to states where abortion is prohibited.
In a decision against Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, U.S. District Judge David Joseph in Lafayette, Louisiana, refused to pause the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s rules that permit mifepristone distribution via mail while challenges to the 2023 regulations are being adjudicated.
Judge Joseph agreed to the government’s request to temporarily suspend the case. However, he emphasized that this suspension is not permanent, and he might later rule in favor of Louisiana.
Murrill responded by stating her intention to appeal for the dismissal of the federal rules, citing the judge’s acknowledgment of the “irreparable harm” Louisiana endures daily under the current regulations.
Joseph, appointed by President Donald Trump, indicated he would monitor an ongoing FDA study about the drug, instructing the agency to report on its progress in six months.
Joseph noted that if the FDA does not complete its review and make necessary changes in a timely manner, his analysis and the importance of these factors will change.
He expressed his belief that the plaintiffs are “likely to succeed on the merits.”
Murrill argued that mailing prescriptions undermines Louisiana’s abortion ban, applicable at all pregnancy stages. Similar legal efforts by Republican state officials are underway in other districts.
Abortion rights advocates emphasized that the ruling is not final. “From the courts to the Trump administration to state legislatures across the country, mifepristone and abortion access are very much still under attack,” said Planned Parenthood Federation of America President and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson.
Mifepristone, often used with misoprostol, has become central to legal disputes over abortion access since the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, which enabled states to prohibit abortion.
In 2024, the Supreme Court refused an attempt to block mail distribution of mifepristone, noting that anti-abortion doctors lacked legal standing to challenge the rules.
While conservative states have sought to ban or limit abortion, liberal states have enacted laws safeguarding providers who prescribe abortion pills via telehealth and mail them to states with bans.
Research by the end of 2024 indicated that telehealth accounted for one-fourth of abortions—a fivefold rise over two years. Another study showed that in 2025, women in states with abortion bans were more likely to use telehealth for obtaining pills than traveling to other states.
Murrill is pursuing criminal charges against two doctors in California and New York, accused of mailing pills to Louisiana patients. These states have not agreed to extradite the doctors for trial.
A Louisiana woman joined Murrill as a plaintiff, claiming her boyfriend coerced her into taking mifepristone from a California doctor.
Coercion claims, particularly when an abusive partner controls reproductive decisions, have become pivotal in the plaintiffs’ legal arguments. They argue that the absence of in-person requirements for the abortion pill could exacerbate intimate partner abuse. Some advocates against domestic abuse counter that telehealth provides a crucial resource for survivors.
The Trump administration’s approval of an additional generic version of mifepristone last year angered anti-abortion groups.
A Hawaii judge ruled last year that the FDA breached the law by imposing restrictions on mifepristone, which is also used for managing miscarriages.
— Geoff Mulvihill and Kimberlee Kruesi
