113 Members of Congress Urge Supreme Court docket to Cease Mail-Order Abortions

Some 113 Republican members of Congress urged the Supreme Court to stop mail-order abortions.

They filed a legal brief asking the high court to reinstate critical safety restrictions on the abortion drug mifepristone, supporting Louisiana’s effort to halt the mailing of chemical abortion pills that pro-life leaders say enable coercion and endanger women and their unborn children.

In an amicus brief, the lawmakers backed a 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that would require in-person dispensing of mifepristone. They argued that Biden administration changes allowing telemedicine prescriptions and mail delivery without an in-person medical visit removed essential safeguards and undermined state laws protecting unborn life after the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision. They also noted how abortions hurt women.

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Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., a lead filer of the brief, said: “Chemical abortion drugs kill innocent children and put mothers’ lives at risk. Safeguards protecting against coercion, such as the in-person dispensing requirement, must be reinstated immediately. The Fifth Circuit got this right, and I urge the Supreme Court to affirm that decision.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., another lead filer along with Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., stated: “There are legitimate concerns about these drugs putting women and girls at significant risk. I urge the Supreme Court to reinstate the safety guardrails that were in place before the Biden administration while the Department of Health and Human Services reviews these drugs.”

The brief highlighted multiple documented cases of coercion and abuse made possible by mail-order access.

In one case, a California man obtained mifepristone online and coerced his girlfriend into taking it; an in-person doctor visit would have prevented him from acquiring the pills. Another involved a Louisiana mother who allegedly ordered the drugs online for her teenage daughter, resulting in a medical emergency that nearly killed her.

A third case concerned a man accused of secretly administering the abortion drugs to a pregnant woman.

Lawmakers also pointed to safety data showing that more than one in 10 women who take mifepristone suffer complications such as infection or hemorrhaging.

In its brief, Louisiana brought up the same concerns.

“Although Louisiana law generally prohibits abortion and the dispensing of mifepristone to pregnant women, out-of-state prescribers — freed from the in-person dispensing requirement — are causing approximately 1,000 illegal abortions in Louisiana each month by mailing FDA-approved mifepristone into the state,” the filing states.

Louisiana contends the Biden administration’s policy of allowing telemedicine prescriptions and mail delivery of the drug was part of an effort to undermine the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned the constitutional right to abortion and returned regulation to the states.

“When the Supreme Court was considering the Dobbs case, which overruled Roe vs. Wade and the right to abortion, ‘the Biden Administration was preparing a plan that predictably would undermine that decision,’” the state brief says.

The state also cited financial costs, including more than $17,000 spent investigating three cases involving mailed mifepristone and over $92,000 in Medicaid dollars for emergency room care and hospitalization resulting from just two mifepristone-induced abortions in 2025.

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said the 5th Circuit ruling ended what she called a “nightmare” enabled by federal policy.

“The Biden abortion cartel facilitated the deaths of thousands of Louisiana babies (and millions in other states) through illegal mail-order abortion pills,” Murrill said. “Today, that nightmare is over, thanks to the hard work of my office and our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom. I look forward to continuing to defend women and babies as this case continues.”

The Trump administration’s Department of Justice did not file any response brief by Thursday’s Supreme Court deadline in Louisiana’s emergency challenge to federal rules allowing mail-order abortions. The state, along with other prolife states and with support from pro-life groups and lawmakers, wants to stop the mail-order abortion scheme while its overall lawsuit continues in court.

The notable silence from Trump officials came one day after Louisiana filed a 58-page brief urging the justices to uphold a U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit order that would stop mail-order abortions.

Conservative researcher Michael New wrote on X that the Department of Justice “failed to file a brief to the Supreme Court by the Thursday deadline” and added, “This might bode well for Louisiana (and pro-lifers).”

National Right to Life President Carol Tobias called the 5th Circuit decision “an important step toward restoring common-sense medical safeguards that were recklessly discarded by the Biden administration in the rush to expand abortion pill access.”

A recent analysis of commercial insurance claims involving 865,727 mifepristone prescriptions from 2017 to 2023. It found 94,605 women — nearly 11% — suffered serious complications within 45 days, including hemorrhage in 3.31% of cases, emergency room visits in 4.73%, and sepsis in 0.10%.

Peer-reviewed research found three quarters of ER visits within 30 days after abortion drug use were coded as severe or critical. Two separate, independent studies also found more than 1 in 10 women experience at least one severe adverse event. Complications can include hemorrhaging, infection, sepsis, and even death.

Other issues encompassed infections, transfusions, hospitalizations and life-threatening events like cardiac problems or anaphylaxis. In nearly 3% of cases, the drug failed, requiring surgical follow-up. Multiple women have died from the abortion pill.

A large national poll found 7 in 10 voters want to roll back Biden’s mail-order abortion drug rule and reinstate safeguards like in-person doctor visits.

The FDA approved mifepristone in 2000. The agency later relaxed restrictions, including eliminating the in-person visit requirement that helps protect women’s health, such as in ectopic pregnancy situations.

Louisiana filed suit challenging those changes, arguing they conflict with its laws protecting unborn children.

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., who handles emergency applications from the 5th Circuit, issued a temporary stay of the appeals court’s order on May 4, keeping mail-order abortions available at least until May 11.

The Supreme Court is expected to act on Louisiana’s request before the temporary stay expires.