— Police blamed fermented fruits for this chaotic video of a deer in the French countryside. This diva is giving Maria in The Sound of Music.
Reproductive Rights
Mifepristone Remains Available by Mail Nationwide
What’s going on: Yesterday, the Supreme Court ruled that the abortion pill mifepristone will remain available by mail through telehealth appointments — for now. Last October, Louisiana sued the FDA, claiming that mifepristone’s availability through telehealth undermined the state's abortion ban. The medication is used in two-thirds of abortions nationwide (typically in conjunction with another pill, misoprostol), and also in miscarriage care. Last week, a lower court agreed with Louisiana. But the drug companies that manufacture mifepristone took it straight to the Supreme Court, requesting an emergency order to keep mifepristone available by mail while the appeals process goes forward. Which is exactly what the high court agreed to — though the issue will likely boomerang back to its docket in the future.
But will this stop here?: Even if this case doesn't go their way in the end, anti-abortion activists and politicians have often taken multiple routes to achieve their goals. Think: the courts, legislatures, the EPA, and the FDA. Meanwhile, abortion advocates have long warned about the effort to resurrect the dormant 19th-century Comstock Act, which bars the mailing of any drug that could induce abortion. (Justice Clarence Thomas brought it up in his dissent.) If that succeeds, it would impact both mifepristone and misoprostol. So while this news feels like a temporary win for abortion rights, both sides are anxiously waiting to see what happens next.
