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Supreme Court Maintains Mifepristone Access, But Thomas Calls for Comstock Act Prosecutions
https://www.autonomynews.co/supreme-court-maintains-mifepristone-access-but-thomas-calls-for-comstock-act-prosecutions/On Thursday, the Supreme Court belatedly blocked a ruling from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that would have restricted telehealth prescriptions of the abortion and miscarriage management drug mifepristone nationwide.
The order came after the court initially failed to act by its own 5 p.m. deadline, which was set on Monday when Justice Samuel Alito extended a previous deadline. Mifepristone manufacturers Danco and GenBioPro had filed emergency appeals to the high court. These were handled by Alito, the justice assigned to all appeals from the Fifth Circuit. The lower court’s ruling is now paused at least until it reaches a decision in this case, filed by Louisiana, and any appeals of that decision return to the Supreme Court.
As is common with emergency orders, the vote count isn’t known, though Justices Alito and Clarence Thomas both wrote alarming dissents outlining why they would have let the restrictions take effect.
Thomas claimed that “it is a criminal offense to ship mifepristone for use in abortions” because of the Comstock Act, an 1873 anti-vice law that conservatives argue should be used to ban mailing abortion pills, if not to ban abortion entirely. Both Thomas and Alito have shown interest in this legal theory in the past: During oral arguments in Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine—another mifepristone case that reached the Court in 2024—both justices asked questions about the Comstock Act. Thomas said Thursday that Danco and GenBioPro cannot be “irreparably harmed” by the lower court ruling because the companies are engaging in “criminal enterprise.” Nearly 115 Republican members of Congress filed a “friend of the court brief” on Louisiana’s side, arguing that mailing mifepristone violates the Comstock Act.
The order came after the court initially failed to act by its own 5 p.m. deadline, which was set on Monday when Justice Samuel Alito extended a previous deadline. Mifepristone manufacturers Danco and GenBioPro had filed emergency appeals to the high court. These were handled by Alito, the justice assigned to all appeals from the Fifth Circuit. The lower court’s ruling is now paused at least until it reaches a decision in this case, filed by Louisiana, and any appeals of that decision return to the Supreme Court.
As is common with emergency orders, the vote count isn’t known, though Justices Alito and Clarence Thomas both wrote alarming dissents outlining why they would have let the restrictions take effect.
Thomas claimed that “it is a criminal offense to ship mifepristone for use in abortions” because of the Comstock Act, an 1873 anti-vice law that conservatives argue should be used to ban mailing abortion pills, if not to ban abortion entirely. Both Thomas and Alito have shown interest in this legal theory in the past: During oral arguments in Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine—another mifepristone case that reached the Court in 2024—both justices asked questions about the Comstock Act. Thomas said Thursday that Danco and GenBioPro cannot be “irreparably harmed” by the lower court ruling because the companies are engaging in “criminal enterprise.” Nearly 115 Republican members of Congress filed a “friend of the court brief” on Louisiana’s side, arguing that mailing mifepristone violates the Comstock Act.
Thomas describes the mailing of mifepristone as a "criminal enterprise" and says providers should face federal felony charges rather than obtaining relief from SCOTUS. www.documentcloud.org/documents/28...
— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjsdc.bsky.social) 2026-05-14T21:30:19.455Z
If you care about staying informed re all legal/administrative news developments re abortion rights and how all key actors are navigating the nuanced political landscape and you are not subscribing to AN and following @susanrinkunas.com + @garnethenderson.com - wtaf are you doing?
— Murshed Zaheed (@murshedz.bsky.social) 2026-05-15T01:19:37.038Z
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Gold plated? Comes with a chauffeur?
Heard from Anita Hill lately, Clarabel? 