Selena Simmons-Duffin
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That affects people all over the country, including in states that protect abortion access.
The Reproductive Freedom Alliance, a coalition of 23 governors, wrote in a statement, quote, we are taking immediate action to protect patients and providers in our states, and we will pursue every legislative, executive, and legal avenue available, unquote.
Selena Simmons-Duffin, NPR News.
Good morning, Scott.
The case was brought by the state against the Food and Drug Administration.
Their argument centered around the FDA's decision to remove an in-person requirement for patients receiving mifepristone, one of the medications used for abortion and the management of miscarriages.
For decades, patients had to physically go to a clinic or a doctor's office and get the medicine.
FDA changed that in 2023 so patients could have the doctor's visit online or over the phone and then receive the medication in the mail.
Louisiana has an abortion ban.
They argued that FDA allowing mifepristone through the mail undermined their ban.
A district court judge put the case on hold in April.
Louisiana appealed that decision to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and a panel of judges on that court agreed with the state, which means that telemedicine access to mifepristone has just ended for the whole country, effective immediately.
Yeah, you know, this is a really big deal.
First of all, a decision from a panel of judges in New Orleans changed how Americans all over the country can access an FDA-approved medication.
That's unprecedented.
In terms of abortion access, this severely restricts access in states with abortion bans.
But it also affects people in states like California, Maryland, Massachusetts, who have come to rely on telemedicine too.
In the almost four years since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, telemedicine abortion has grown.
It's a big part of the reason why the overall number of abortions hasn't gone down at all nationally, despite the state bans.
Mifepristone has been found to be safe by FDA.