Supreme Court Keeps Mifepristone Available as Alito and Thomas Dissent

The U.S. Supreme Court issued an unsigned order on Thursday, May 14, 2026, maintaining the current availability of mifepristone, a key medication used for abortions. This decision blocks a ruling by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals that sought to reimpose strict in-person dispensing requirements and ban the mailing of the drug. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas filed separate dissents against the majority's decision. Justice Thomas argued based on the Comstock Act, characterizing the distribution of the drug as a criminal enterprise and stating that manufacturers could not claim irreparable harm from restrictions on illegal activities. Justice Alito criticized the stay as undermining the Court's previous Dobbs decision, expressing strong opposition to the drug manufacturers, Danco and GenBioPro. He dismissed their claims of operational inconvenience and lost sales as insufficient evidence of irreparable injury. While this order provides a temporary reprieve for access to mifepristone, the case is expected to return to the Supreme Court for a review on its merits. With a conservative majority, the future availability of the drug remains uncertain as legal battles continue following the overturning of federal abortion protections.