Story perspectives

Supreme Court Blocks Fifth Circuit Ban on Mail-Order Mifepristone

5/17/2026

Center

Supreme Court Blocks

The Supreme Court’s pause of the Fifth Circuit ruling shows its expanding oversight of the Southern appeals court’s conservative decisions.
U.S. Supreme Court justices issued an order Thursday blocking the Fifth Circuit’s May 1 decision that banned mail-order prescriptions of mifepristone.
Judge Kyle Duncan wrote the ruling, noting Court heard ten Fifth Circuit cases this term.
President Donald Trump appointed Judge Kyle Duncan, who said the FDA policy lacked scientific basis.

Left

Supreme Court Pauses

Justice Clarence Thomas invoked the 19th-century Comstock Act, labeling the mailing of abortion pills a criminal offense.
The U.S. Supreme Court ordered a pause on Fifth Circuit’s effort to block telehealth abortions, keeping mifepristone available via mail.
Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented, upholding the criminal view of mailed abortion pills.
Telehealth abortions comprised 28 percent of all abortions in December 2025, per the Society of Family Planning.

Blindspot

Left coverage emphasised Justice Thomas invoking the 19th-century Comstock Act to label mailed abortion pills criminal, a detail absent from Center coverage.
Left coverage also highlighted that telehealth abortions comprised 28 percent of all abortions in December 2025, which Center coverage did not mention.

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Supreme Court Blocks

The Supreme Court’s pause of the Fifth Circuit ruling shows its expanding oversight of the Southern appeals court’s conservative decisions.
U.S. Supreme Court justices issued an order Thursday blocking the Fifth Circuit’s May 1 decision that banned mail-order prescriptions of mifepristone.
Judge Kyle Duncan wrote the ruling, noting Court heard ten Fifth Circuit cases this term.
President Donald Trump appointed Judge Kyle Duncan, who said the FDA policy lacked scientific basis.

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