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U.S. Appeals Court Partially Restores Access to Abortion Medication Mifepristone

HeadlineApr 13, 2023

The medication abortion pill mifepristone will remain available for now, though with restrictions, after an appeals court partially blocked a ruling by a federal judge in Texas last week that banned it nationwide. A three-judge panel on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision late Wednesday that upheld parts of the Texas ruling targeting recent moves by the FDA to increase access to the pill. That means that while challenges to the ban proceed, patients will only be able to access the medication through a doctor’s office or clinic, and will not be able to receive the pill through the mail or directly from a pharmacy. And patients will only be allowed to access mifepristone through seven weeks of pregnancy, instead of the expanded 10 weeks. Mifepristone is used in more than half of abortions in the U.S.; it’s also widely used to treat miscarriages and can keep people from needing surgery. The issue is likely to end up in front of the Supreme Court.

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