Attorney General Raoul: Supreme Court Enters Administrative Stay, Preventing Restrictions On Mifepristone Going Into Effect

Order Comes Shortly After Raoul and Coalition File Amicus Brief

Submitted by Office of the Illinois Attorney General

May 5, 2026 12:00 PM May 5, 2026 12:09 PM

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CHICAGO – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today announced the U.S. Supreme Court entered an administrative stay to pause a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit that would restrict access to mifepristone, a safe and effective abortion medication. The order was entered shortly after Raoul and a coalition of 22 attorneys general and the governor of Pennsylvania filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in the case.

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Raoul and the coalition argued in their brief the 5th Circuit ruling, which would reinstate a medically unnecessary in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone, is not supported by law or science, would create regulatory and administrative chaos nationwide, and would interfere with states’ ability to protect access to reproductive health care within their borders, particularly in rural and medically-underserved areas.

“For more than 25 years, mifepristone has been used safely and effectively in the United States and around the world. As the most common method for early-term abortion care and the standard of care for managing early miscarriage, there is no legal or scientific reason to restrict its access,” Raoul said. “Medical decisions should be between patients and their providers, and should be guided by science, not political agendas. I will continue to push back on unnecessary restrictions to protect access to reproductive care.”

Mifepristone, when used in combination with misoprostol, is the standard medication used to terminate a pregnancy through 10 weeks. Since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved mifepristone in 2000, an estimated 7.5 million people in the United States have used the medication safely. Medication abortion now accounts for 63 percent of all abortions in the U.S. health care system, with approximately one in four abortions provided via telehealth. Studies have consistently found mifepristone to be safe and effective.

In 2023, after extensive review, the FDA eliminated the in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone as medically unnecessary. That decision followed years of evidence, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, showing that mifepristone could be safely provided without requiring patients to appear in person. The FDA’s action allowed providers to offer mifepristone through telehealth and enabled patients to obtain the medication through certified mail-order pharmacies and other approved channels, expanding access for patients who face significant barriers to in-person care.

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In their brief, Raoul and the coalition argue reinstating the in-person dispensing requirement would curtail telehealth access to mifepristone, forcing patients to rely on more difficult alternatives or travel for in-person care. Telehealth has become an increasingly important way for patients in Illinois to access abortion care, with the share of abortions provided through telemedicine growing nationwide from five percent in 2022 to 27 percent in 2025.

Raoul and the attorneys general also argue the ruling would disrupt care in states like Illinois, where abortion remains legal and protected. Since the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, clinics in states that protect abortion access have faced increased demand from both in-state and out-of-state patients. By forcing more patients to seek in-person care, the 5th Circuit’s ruling would place new strain on clinics and health care systems that are already stretched.

Attorney General Raoul and the coalition assert that the 5th Circuit’s ruling undermines states’ sovereign authority to protect and expand access to reproductive health care. In the wake of the Dobbs decision, which eliminated the federal constitutional right to abortion and returned regulation of abortion to the states, many states took swift executive and legislative action to safeguard reproductive rights and expand access to medication abortion. The attorneys general argue that courts cannot leverage medically unnecessary federal drug regulations to override those state policy choices or impose unnecessary barriers to care in states where abortion is legal.

This is the latest action Attorney General Raoul has taken to protect access to reproductive care.

In Illinois, he has initiated or supported legislative proposals to preserve Illinois as a reproductive health care oasis, issued guidance to inform Illinois residents of their rights, and provided law enforcement with clarification that abortion is not criminalized in the state. More broadly, Raoul often joins other state attorneys general to oppose draconian abortion regulations federally and in other states.

For instance, Raoul urged the American Medical Association to protect health care providers from risky in-person medical board certification requirements. In August 2025, Raoul called on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to remove burdensome restrictions on mifepristone, which followed a 2023 lawsuit Raoul filed to preserve access to mifepristone for patients in Illinois. In 2024, Raoul, as part of a coalition of attorneys general, filed a brief in the U.S. Supreme Court to protect access to medication abortion nationwide. The court’s ruling ultimately preserved access to medication abortion.

Joining Raoul in filing today’s brief are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington, as well as the governor of Pennsylvania.

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