Requests for telehealth abortion care have doubled since Roe v. Wade was overturned; today’s ruling jeopardizes that lifeline

05.01.2026 (PRESS RELEASE) — Today, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily reinstated a requirement that the abortion pill mifepristone be dispensed in person, making it harder nationwide to get the abortion method that is most commonly used in the U.S. The case was filed against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by the state of Louisiana in an attempt to restrict abortion pill access. The ruling orders the FDA to reinstate a medically unnecessary in-person dispensing requirement that prevents patients from filling their prescriptions by mail or at a local pharmacy—a requirement that the FDA removed in 2023. A lower court previously stayed the case and declined to immediately reinstate the in-person dispensing requirement.

“Telehealth has been the last bridge to care for many seeking abortion, which is precisely why Louisiana officials want it banned,” said Nancy Northup, President and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights. “This isn’t about science—it’s about making abortion as difficult, expensive, and unreachable as possible. Telehealth has transformed healthcare. Selectively stripping that away from abortion patients is a political blockade.”

The Trump administration is conducting its own politically-motivated review of mifepristone, despite decades of science showing its safety. The FDA had asked—and a lower court agreed—to pause the case for now while that review is underway, with many suspecting the administration will reinstate restrictions on mifepristone to make it much harder to access.

Medication abortion—in the U.S., most commonly a two-drug regimen of mifepristone and misoprostol—accounts for more than 60% of abortions in the U.S. each year. A quarter of all abortions in the U.S. are now provided via telehealth—a two-fold increase since Roe v. Wade was overturned. Telehealth has been a lifeline, particularly for patients in states that restrict abortion and in states with rural populations where the nearest provider could be hours away.

Hundreds of studies confirm mifepristone’s safety, and 7.5 million Americans have used the drug since it was approved by the FDA in 2000. Research shows mifepristone is just as safe when provided via telehealth as it is in a clinic.

Louisiana v. FDA is one of several court cases brought by ban states that seek to restrict access to mifepristone nationwide. Ongoing cases in Texas and Missouri could go even further, including by directing the FDA to withdraw its approval of mifepristone altogether. Multiple state attorneys general are attacking healthcare providers outside their borders, hoping to give courts a chance to strike down shield laws that protect doctors who mail abortion pills.

The Center for Reproductive Rights and 100 other reproductive health, rights, and justice groups filed an amicus brief in support of telehealth provision of mifepristone.

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