Supreme Court extends pause on abortion pill ban until Thursday

May 11 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court ordered Monday that the stay blocking a lower court ruling restricting nationwide access to abortion pills from taking effect until Thursday.

Justice Samuel Alitosigned the extension that will expire on Thursday at 5 p.m. EST. Alito also blocked the ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit last week.

The Fifth Circuit's decision was made in a case in which the state of Louisiana sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to restrict access to the drug mifepristone.

In 2023, the FDA adopted a new regulation allowing patients to be prescribed mifepristone through telehealth, certified pharmacies or by mail order. Louisiana officials said this federal regulation violates the state's rules.

Drug manufacturers Danco Laboratories and GenBioPro have called on the Supreme Court to weigh in. They argue that Louisiana has suffered no harm from the FDA regulation so it has no grounds to sue.

Alito's extension of the pause on enforcing the lower court ruling gives the high court more time to mull over the issue.

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This story was originally published May 11, 2026 at 5:41 PM.