NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - A federal appeals court has sided with Louisiana in its fight over mailed abortion pills, granting the state’s request to pause federal rules that allowed mifepristone to be prescribed online and dispensed through the mail.
The ruling from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals comes after Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill challenged the Food and Drug Administration’s 2023 rules for mifepristone, one of the drugs used in medication abortions.
The appeals court granted Louisiana’s motion to stay the 2023 Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, or REMS, while the state’s appeal continues. The ruling said the stay under federal law “temporarily voids the challenged authority” and would have a nationwide effect.
Louisiana argued the FDA rules made it easier for abortion pills to be mailed into states where abortion is banned. The appeals court said Louisiana showed it was likely to succeed in its challenge and was suffering irreparable harm.
The court wrote that the FDA’s 2023 rule allowed mifepristone to be prescribed online and dispensed through the mail without an in-person doctor’s visit. The ruling said the FDA conceded it had not adequately studied whether remotely prescribing mifepristone is safe.
Murrill praised the ruling, saying it ends what she called illegal access to mail-order abortion pills.
“Today, that nightmare is over,” Murrill said. “I look forward to continuing to defend women and babies as this case continues.”
The decision reverses, for now, an April ruling from U.S. District Judge David Joseph in Lafayette, who declined to immediately block the mail-order rules while the FDA continued a review of mifepristone protocols. Joseph previously said Louisiana was likely to succeed on the merits, but found other factors favored letting the FDA review continue.
The 5th Circuit disagreed, saying the FDA and the public do not have an interest in enforcing a regulation that likely violates federal law. The appeals court said pausing the 2023 rules would not stop the FDA from completing its ongoing review of mifepristone safety protocols.
The legal fight is tied to Louisiana’s broader push against out-of-state doctors accused of mailing abortion pills into the state.
In January, Murrill announced that California doctor Remy Coeytaux had been indicted in St. Tammany Parish on a felony charge of criminal abortion by means of abortion-inducing drugs. Murrill’s office accused Coeytaux of mailing abortion pills into Louisiana without an in-person examination by a Louisiana-licensed physician.
That case sparked a clash between Murrill and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose office said California protects patients and doctors and would not help Louisiana prosecute abortion-related care.
Newsom later said he would not cooperate with Louisiana officials seeking to prosecute doctors accused of mailing abortion pills to Louisiana residents. Murrill responded by saying Louisiana would defend its laws.
The 5th Circuit ruling said Louisiana identified nearly $92,000 in Medicaid costs tied to emergency care for two women in 2025 from complications caused by out-of-state mifepristone. The court also said the record showed the policy facilitates nearly 1,000 illegal abortions in Louisiana per month.
The appeals court said Louisiana has a sovereign interest in enforcing its abortion laws and a financial interest tied to Medicaid costs.
The ruling does not end the case. It pauses the 2023 FDA rules while Louisiana’s appeal moves forward.
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