As previously reported, last Friday the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay pending appeal of the FDA's 2023 ruling that removed the requirement that the abortion drug mifepristone be prescribed only after an in-person visit with a doctor. The FDA ruling permitted out-of-state doctors to prescribe mifepristone which then could be delivered by mail. Within one day of the 5th Circuit's ruling, two pharmaceutical manufacturers that had intervened as defendants in the case in the lower courts filed an emergency petition with the U.S. Supreme Court asking it to stay the 5th Circuit's ruling while appeals continue. Alternatively, they seek immediate Supreme Court review. They also ask for an immediate administrative stay of the 5th Circuit's judgement while the Supreme Court is considering their petition.
The 56-page petition (full text) in Danco Laboratories, L.L.C. v. State of Louisiana, Ct. filed 5/2/2026) contends in part that Louisiana lacks standing to challenge the FDA ruling and that the 5th Circuit's judgment "injects immediate confusion and upheaval into highly time-sensitive medical decisions."
SCOTUSblog reports on the case and traces much of the background to the present filing.