Selina Simmons-Duffin

A panel of judges on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered an end to telemedicine access to mifepristone on May 1.

Two drug makers filed for emergency relief at the Supreme Court.

Nearly two weeks later, the justices have stayed that Fifth Circuit ruling pending appeal.

Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented.

That means telemedicine abortion remains available as it was.

Reproductive rights advocates celebrated the decision, although they noted it's temporary.

There's more to come with this case, and several other legal challenges to telemedicine abortion are underway.

Selena Simmons-Duffin, NPR News, Washington.

Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade nearly four years ago, telemedicine abortion has grown and grown, and it now accounts for a quarter of all abortions in the country.

Some of those abortions are happening in states with bans, but residents of states where abortion is legal are also making use of the flexibility of telemedicine to access abortion.

I've talked to people who live in remote parts of California, in Georgia, in Louisiana, who all use telemedicine abortion and were grateful they had that option.

How many schools have we bombed?

So how do you explain the publicly available information that 22 schools have been hit and multiple hospitals?

The case comes from the state of Louisiana.

It argued that the Food and Drug Administration allowing telemedicine access to Mifepristone undermines its abortion ban.

Earlier this month, a panel of federal appeals court judges agreed with the state and ended telemedicine access.

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito paused that decision for one week and has now extended that pause for three more days.

That means patients can continue to receive mifepristone by mail at least until Thursday, at which point the Supreme Court is likely to make a longer-term decision.

Telemedicine now accounts for one-quarter of all abortions nationally.

Selina Simmons-Duffin, NPR News, Washington.