Federal appellate panel blocks part of expansive abortion pill ban, allows some restrictions to take effect

Pro-mifepristone truck
(Image credit: Chris Coduto/Getty Images for UltraViolet)

A three-judge panel of the conservative U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled late Wednesday that the abortion medication mifepristone will remain on the market while the Justice Department appeals a decision by a federal judge in Texas that would have withdrawn FDA approval for the drug entirely. The FDA gave mifepristone the green light in 2000, and the appellate judges agreed that the six-year statute of limitations prevented overturning the original authorization.

But in the 2-1 decision, the panel said the easing of restrictions the FDA and Biden administration have enacted since 2016 will remain blocked under U.S District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk's sweeping ruling. That means mifepristone can only be prescribed by a doctor, must be used only up to seven weeks of pregnancy instead of 10, entails three in-person doctors' visits, and cannot be dispensed through the mail, among other limits.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.