Supreme Court Delays Ruling on Abortion Pill

UPDATE Apr 19, 2023 3:02 PM CDT

The Supreme Court has delayed its ruling on the abortion pill mifepristone, leaving the drug widely available without new restrictions until at least Friday evening. Justice Samuel Alito issued the order on Wednesday, hours before an interim stay on a lower court's ruling was due to expire, the Guardian reports. Alito's order gives the court more time to examine the ruling from Matthew Kacsmaryk, a federal judge in Texas who ruled to invalidate the FDA's 2000 approval of the pill, reports the New York Times.

Apr 14, 2023 3:21 PM CDT

In a temporary stay issued Friday afternoon by Justice Samuel Alito, the Supreme Court blocked restrictions on an abortion drug from being implemented before all of the justices can take up the issue. The interim stay, which will expire at midnight Wednesday, allows time for the court to examine lower court rulings and new briefs while deciding whether to impose a formal stay that would keep mifepristone publicly available, the New York Times reports. Alito ordered new briefs to be filed by Tuesday. The Justice Department had asked the court to stop restrictions ordered by a federal judge in Texas from taking effect earlier in the day. The matter fell to Alito because he supervises that appeals court; his decision holds no clues about what the Supreme Court will decide.