Abortion Pill Mail Access Stands

The Supreme Court temporarily blocked a 5th Circuit ruling that would have forced mifepristone to be dispensed in person only — keeping mail-order access to the abortion pill alive for now.

State of play: The court granted emergency requests from drug manufacturers Danco Laboratories and GenBioPro to pause the lower court's order. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented.

What they're saying:

• Thomas argued the companies "cannot, in any legally relevant sense, be irreparably harmed by a court order that makes it more difficult for them to commit crimes."
• Alito called the court's order "remarkable."

The legal question: The 5th Circuit had reinstated the in-person dispensing requirement, a restriction that predates the COVID-era expansion of mail-order medication abortion. The manufacturers argued that reimposing that requirement while litigation continues would cause immediate, irreversible harm to their business.

What this means for gun owners: At first read, an abortion pill case looks like it belongs somewhere else. But Second Amendment litigation increasingly lives and dies in the same federal circuits — particularly the 5th — that are shaping these emergency docket decisions. How SCOTUS handles emergency stays, who the dissenters are, and how the majority reasons about irreparable harm all factor directly into how future firearms injunctions get treated.

Between the lines: Thomas and Alito's dissents aren't just about mifepristone. Both justices have been the most aggressive voices for narrowing what constitutes irreparable harm in emergency stay posture — a framework that cuts both ways. A court more skeptical of stays can just as easily deny emergency relief to gun owners challenging new regulations.

What to watch: Orders from the court's May 15 conference drop Monday at 9:30 a.m. EDT. The underlying mifepristone case is unresolved — this is a pause, not a final ruling. Expect another round at the high court before this is over.