SCOTUS Kicks Mife Back to Lower Court—Access Remains

5.14.26

Quick hits: Mifepristone Goes Back to the Fifth Circuit; Illinois Bill Would Protect Abortion Records; Arkansas ‘Monument to the Unborn’ is a Stolen Design; In the States: Arizona, Kentucky, Oregon, Missouri, Colorado; Which Pro-Choice States Are Stepping Up for Planned Parenthood?; Virginia Ordinance Sidesteps Abortion Protections

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Mifepristone Goes Back to the Fifth Circuit

Well, that very nearly gave me a heart attack! The Supreme Court missed its own 5 p.m. deadline today, allowing a Fifth Circuit ruling targeting mifepristone-by-mail to briefly go into effect. But around 5:30, the Court granted the emergency stay requested by mifepristone manufacturers Danco and GenBioPro. That means abortion pills can continue to be sent by mail while the case works its way back through the lower courts.

The Justices didn’t give an explanation for the decision, or the vote count—just the order itself. What we do know is that Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented, doing pretty much exactly what you’d expect—laying out how anti-abortion activists and lawyers should come after mifepristone next: Thomas pointed to the Comstock Act, and said mifepristone manufacturers weren’t entitled to a stay “based on lost profits from their criminal enterprise.” (Asshole.) Alito said the companies hadn’t met the legal bar for a stay, and—incredibly—called telemedicine abortion “a scheme to undermine our decision in Dobbs.” (Also an asshole.)

Here’s what happens now: the case goes back to the Fifth Circuit to be decided on the merits. The stay holds through that process—meaning that mifepristone will continue to be available as it is now. But it’s almost certain that this case is going to end up back at the Supreme Court. Several abortion rights leaders tell me they see this as SCOTUS’ way of delaying that inevitability for as long as possible. Or at least until after the midterms.

Keep an eye on your inboxes: tomorrow, Abortion, Every Day will send you a full breakdown of the decision, what it means, and what we do now.

Something to keep an eye on in the meantime: the FDA sent out a tweet tonight about the Supreme Court’s decision—using language meant to seem reasonable, but that actually signals something more insidious.

My take? The FDA is sending a message to the anti-abortion movement: hold tight, the bogus “safety review” of mifepristone is coming. Especially given the new interim FDA chief, who—Reproductive Freedom for All president Mini Timmaraju reminded me—got on the phone with anti-abortion activists this week to assure them he’s on their side!

So let’s take tonight to be relieved: abortion pill access stays the same for right now, and that’s amazing. (Also amazing: anti-abortion activists are pissed off.) But let’s not lose sight of the fact that this is conservatives’ way of kicking the can down the road, and we still have lots of work to do.

Illinois Bill Would Protect Abortion Records

Let’s move on to some objectively terrific news: Illinois Democrats have introduced legislation that would help protect abortion patients’ medical privacy.

The Reproductive Health Records Privacy Act would allow for “segregation of abortion-related information in health information exchanges”—in other words, information related to abortion care would be separated out from other medical records. The bill would also limit the ability of out-of-state entities to access that information; so abortion records would be flagged as protected in routine records requests unless a patient specifically asks for the data to be shared.

State Rep. Mary Beth Canty smartly pointed out to Axios that health issues after a medication abortion can be treated the same as a miscarriage, allowing patients to share as much or as little about their abortion as they wish.

It’s not just an important protection for those in Illinois—but all the abortion patients who come to the state for care. As a reminder, about a quarter of all patients who traveled across state lines for abortion care in 2025 went to Illinois.

Arkansas ‘Monument to the Unborn’ is a Stolen Design

This is just so hilariously on brand. Remember how Arkansas plans to erect a “monument to the unborn” at the state capitol? Well, after years of hand-wringing over designs, the Arkansas Capitol Arts and Grounds Commission finally made a decision—and apparently decided the best way to honor aborted fetuses was to steal from a local artist.

The state panel chose a design submitted by a Republican legislator: a “living wall” of plants. But here’s the thing, artist Lakey Goff submitted that exact concept to the commission years ago—and the panel accepted it. Apparently Republicans thought her version would be too costly, so they rescinded its acceptance and proposed their own smaller and cheaper version.

“There’s corruption and there’s deceit, and this system has got to be accounted for in the name of Jesus,” Goff says. “What they have done is a disgrace, and it is unrighteous, and it is not in alignment with the will of God for the state of Arkansas.”

Obviously I don’t think stealing from artists is okay, but given the subject matter I’m just going to say this: play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

In the States: Arizona, Kentucky, Oregon, Missouri, Colorado

Anti-abortion legislators in Arizona are hiring their own private lawyers to defend state abortion restrictions—even though voters codified protections for abortion in 2024. What’s more, they’re not hiring the lawyers on their own dime. Taxpayers will foot the bill.

This started because a group of advanced practice nurses are challenging a state law that limits who can prescribe or perform abortions. The suit, brought on the nurses’ behalf by the ACLU, points out that the law has nothing to do with patient safety or medical standards—and that it’s more important than ever to expand the state’s pool of providers. (Like all pro-choice states, Arizona has seen an increase in out-of-state patients, and is struggling to meet the demand.)

But here’s the thing: Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is pro-choice, and she has no plans to fight the ACLU’s suit. That’s why Republicans are hiring attorneys to push against the challenge themselves.

“To me, the question is, why is the legislature spending taxpayer money to defend these kinds of things in the face of the will of the voters,’‘ Arizona solicitor general Josh Bendor asks. I would love to know the answer!

Meanwhile, Kentucky’s attorney general has asked a judge to reconsider his ruling striking down the state’s definition of human life. Under Kentucky’s abortion ban, human life is defined as beginning at conception, but Jefferson Circuit Judge Brian Edwards called the definition “unconstitutionally void for vagueness.” (The decision came in response to a broader religious freedom challenge to the law.)

Edwards also cited Republican legislation seeking to punish abortion patients with homicide, and a recent case where a Kentucky woman was arrested for fetal homicide after having an abortion.

But Attorney General Russell Coleman insists that the idea that women could be charged for having abortions “is a gross over-reading” of the state ban. “There is…no basis to conclude that the definition of ‘unborn human being’…could ever be used as a basis for a homicide prosecution,” Coleman said.

Tell that to the hundreds of women who’ve been charged with pregnancy-related crimes since the end of Roe!

As expected, Missouri just passed its heinous Born Alive bill that we’ve been covering, now off to the governor’s desk. Dr. Katrina Kimport, a researcher focusing on later abortion care at Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH) previously told AED about a pregnant patient who learned there was no way her child would survive. The woman wanted to give birth and receive palliative care—to spend a few hours with her newborn without medical intervention, in order to say goodbye.

But she lived in a state with ‘Born Alive’ legislation, which required the hospital to intervene to ‘save the baby’s life’—prolonging the infant and family’s suffering. If she fought back against that ‘life-saving’ care, she could be reported to child protective services. (The woman felt forced by the state to travel for later abortion care.)

State Rep. Brian Seitz told the Missouri Independent, “The Democrats are putting themselves in a very dangerous political position by not supporting healthcare for a living child.” But let’s be clear: to Republicans like Seitz, a newly fertilized egg is a “living child.”

In better news, Colorado is one step closer to requiring abortion medication on college campuses. Colorado Newsline reports that a bill requiring campus health centers to keep the medication in stock has passed the legislature and will now head to Gov. Jared Polis for his signature.

The bill would mandate that colleges with pharmacies on campus keep the medication in stock; colleges without pharmacies would still have to send prescriptions for the pills somewhere else.

Bill sponsor Sen. Katie Wallace said in a statement, “College students are navigating a nation that continues to undermine their right to abortion care, but Colorado is and will remain a safe haven for reproductive rights.”

Which Pro-Choice States Are Stepping Up for Planned Parenthood?

Oregon’s governor has signed three new laws to protect and strengthen abortion rights—including one that will backfill Planned Parenthood funding that’s been cut under the Trump administration.

In fact, Jefferson Public Radio points out that thanks to House Bill 4127, Oregon has become the first state to create a long-term plan to replace clinic funding should Congress permanently cut those federal dollars off. Democratic lawmakers have already set aside over $7 million—but that’s less than half of the $17 million clinics needed in 2024.

Gov. Tina Kotek also signed House Bill 4088, which expands the state’s shield law by prohibiting state employees from helping out-of-state or federal investigations into those providing abortions and gender affirming care.

“At a time when reproductive health care is under relentless attack across our country, Oregon chose to lead,” said Amy Handler, the president of Planned Parenthood of Southern Oregon.

Speaking of Planned Parenthood funding, the Detroit Free Press reports that Michigan clinics are in danger of shuttering if the organization doesn’t get $5 million in state funding.

Planned Parenthood of Michigan is asking Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to push through the red tape to get the group emergency funding as soon as possible. In an open letter, president Paula Thornton Greear writes, “Without urgent state action, we will soon be forced to make decisions about our health centers and our programs that cannot be undone.”

Whitmer’s press secretary, Stacey LaRouche, says that getting funding to Planned Parenthood is the legislature’s job. “We would encourage any organization or individual to work with the Legislature on their budget asks,” she told the Detroit Free Press. But Thornton Greear pointed out that other governors—like Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker—have managed to go around the normal budgetary process to protect reproductive healthcare in their states.

Consider this yet another reminder that Republicans’ budget bill is meant to be a de facto national ban—if they can’t make abortion illegal in every state, they’ll make it impossible to get. Planned Parenthood has already closed clinics in Jackson, Marquette, and Petoskey, and has consolidated two Ann Arbor centers.

In her letter, Thornton Greear says it plainly to Whitmer:

“Put simply: there is no one else who can act to save our health centers. It is down to you.”

Read more about the Trump administration’s defunding plan in our explainer below:

Senate Republicans’ ‘Big, Beautiful’ Backdoor Ban

Virginia Ordinance Sidesteps Abortion Protections

So much for leaving abortion to the states!

Earlier this year, Lynchburg, Virginia passed an ordinance to ban abortion clinics from operating within a thousand feet of churches, public libraries, schools, parks, children’s museums, and day care centers. The list was so long that there would effectively be no place in Lynchburg where a clinic could set up.

Still, the council debated making the ordinance even more extreme this week by potentially removing language that exempts clinics that offer “family planning services,” because council member Chris Faraldi said this could allow “Planned Parenthood [to] set up right across the street from E.C. Glass High School.”

Let’s be clear: there’s nothing inappropriate about a health care center opening near a school or church.

Faraldi claimed that this exception for family planning clinics that don’t provide abortion was about “[ramming the ordinance] through all for political posture in an election year.” Another council member, Marty Misjuns, argued that “the pro-life community in Lynchburg should be proud of what we’ve accomplished in Lynchburg.”

Here’s what these ordinances really are: informal, local abortion bans meant to circumvent state laws. Anti-abortion activists think people won’t pay attention to local politics—and that they can push through restrictions using boring zoning policies without anyone noticing. That’s exactly what makes these attacks so dangerous—and why we’re keeping a close eye on them at AED.