May 11, 2026:
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is leaving women’s access to a widely used abortion pill untouched until at least Thursday, while the justices consider whether to allow restrictions on the drug, mifepristone, to take effect. Justice Samuel Alito’s order Monday (May 11, 2026) allows women seeking abortions to continue obtaining the pill at pharmacies or through the mail, without an in-person visit to a doctor. It prevents restrictions on mifepristone imposed by a federal appeals court from taking effect for now. The court is dealing with its latest abortion controversy four years after its conservative majority overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed more than a dozen states to effectively ban abortion outright. Louisiana leads the current challenge.
May 5, 2026:
NEW YORK (AP) — Recent court rulings on abortion pill access have reignited a contentious political issue in a midterm year. A federal appeals court restricted mail access to mifepristone pills, a common abortion method. The Supreme Court then temporarily restored access on Monday (May 4, 2026). It’s too early to say whether the rulings will affect the outcome of races this year, when issues around affordability are expected to take top billing for voters. But advocates on both sides hope it will sway voters their way. Some abortion rights groups are strategizing ways to reach voters who may be more motivated to turn out for Democrats. Abortion opponents warn their typically loyal Republican voters are frustrated the Trump administration hasn’t done more to ban abortion.
May 4, 2026:
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has restored broad access to the abortion pill mifepristone, blocking a ruling that had threatened to upend one of the main ways abortion is provided across the nation. The order issued Monday (May 4, 2026) allows women seeking abortions to obtain the pill at pharmacies or through the mail, without an in-person visit to a doctor. Those rules had been in effect for several years until a federal appeals court imposed new restrictions last week. Most abortions are obtained with medication, normally mifepristone and a second drug, misoprostol. The availability of those drugs has made abortion accessible to women in states with bans. Louisiana sued, saying mifepristone’s availability undermined the ban there.
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