The US Supreme Court has decided not to reimpose outdated restrictions on mifepristone while litigation continues in lower courts in State of Louisiana et al. v. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) et al. As a result, telehealth, mailing and pharmacy provision of mifepristone can continue, as it has since the FDA—in line with the scientific consensus—initially removed these restrictions from the drug’s risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS) on a temporary basis in 2021, before permanently removing them in 2023.
Robust evidence shows that telehealth provision of medication abortion is safe and effective. As of December 2025, more than one in four clinician-provided abortions in the United States were provided via telehealth, and the vast majority of them (98% as of 2020) used the combined mifepristone–misoprostol regimen.
The end goal of this legal attack—which will now continue in lower courts—is to force the FDA to reimpose the medically unnecessary in-person dispensing requirement, and other restrictions that were permanently removed in 2023 (after being temporarily lifted starting in 2021).
Below, we’re sharing a statement from our vice president for public policy, along with key data and resources:
Statement from Kelly Baden, Vice President for Public Policy at the Guttmacher Institute:
“The US Supreme Court’s decision to allow telehealth, mailing and pharmacy provision of mifepristone to continue nationwide provides urgently needed relief after weeks of disruption. But we are not fully celebrating yet, since this baseless litigation will continue in lower courts and other threats to mifepristone and abortion access overall loom large.”
“The Court’s decision restores access to the standard of care that has been in place since the FDA, in line with robust evidence, permanently removed restrictions in 2023, after initially lifting them in 2021. The reality is that access to abortion care remains fragile. The whiplash of the past several weeks, on top of the reverberations of overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022, has already caused real disruptions and continues to put patients and providers at the mercy of judges.”
“The evidence is clear: telehealth provision of medication abortion using mifepristone is safe, effective, and essential. As of December 2025, more than one in four clinician-provided abortions in the United States are accessed via telehealth, and the overwhelming majority of them rely on the combined mifepristone–misoprostol regimen.”
“This case isn’t over, and the stakes could not be clearer—mifepristone access via telehealth is under continued threat. Patients, providers, and communities have endured relentless attacks on abortion access—it is long past time for courts and policymakers to follow the science and protect access to this care so it cannot be callously stripped away.”
National data on medication abortion:
- 65% of abortions in the United States were medication abortions in 2023.
- Most of these medication abortions were provided in clinics, but data from the Society of Family Planning shows that as of December 2025, more than one in four clinician-provided abortions in the United States were provided via telehealth.
Data on medication abortion in states without total bans:
- Medication abortion accounted for the majority of abortions provided in most US states without total abortion bans in 2023—with proportions being the lowest in the District of Columbia (44%) and Ohio (46%) and the highest in Montana (84%) and Wyoming (95%).
Data on telehealth medication abortion in states with total bans, including Louisiana:
- As of May 11, 2026, 13 states are enforcing total bans on abortion care.
- Data from Guttmacher’s Monthly Abortion Provision Study show 91,000 abortions were provided via telehealth to states with total bans in 2025—this includes 9,360 abortions provided via telehealth to Louisiana.
- Louisiana has been one of the primary states attacking shield law providers. In January 2025, Louisiana issued the first criminal indictment of an abortion provider after the Dobbs decision, alleging that a New York physician provided abortion pills via telehealth to a Louisiana teenager.
Any decision that reimposes medically unnecessary restrictions on mifepristone will cause major disruptions to abortion provision and further limit patients’ options.
- The two-drug combination of mifepristone and misoprostol accounted for more than 98% of medication abortions in the United States in 2020, the last year for which comprehensive data are available.
- Misoprostol-only medication abortion regimens have been widely used around the world for decades and are supported by leading professional and medical organizations in the United States and around the world, including the World Health Organization.