By SUZANNE DOWNING
May 2, 2026 – A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked nationwide access to abortion pills such as Mifepristone by mail, which could reshape how the drugs are obtained in Alaska, particularly as state lawmakers debate expanding pharmacists’ prescribing authority under House Bill 195.
In a May 1 order, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a stay on Biden Administration-era rules from the US Food and Drug Administration that had allowed the abortion drug mifepristone to be prescribed via telemedicine and shipped directly to patients.
The ruling does not ban the drug, which has been FDA-approved since 2000, but it reinstates an older requirement that patients obtain it in person from a certified provider while the case proceeds.
The case, Louisiana v. FDA, is part of ongoing litigation over federal abortion policy following the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
The Fifth Circuit’s action temporarily halts the FDA’s pandemic-era and subsequent permanent changes that removed in-person dispensing requirements. As a result:
- Telehealth prescriptions for mifepristone are effectively paused
- Mailing the drug to patients is blocked nationwide
- Patients must now obtain the drug in person
It’s expected this will be appealed to the Supreme Court.
The federal decision arrives as Alaska lawmakers consider HB 195, a bill that would expand the authority of pharmacists to prescribe and dispense certain medications. That bill rests in House Finance, which heard and held the bill. Pro-life organizations are worried the bill will mean pharmacists become abortionists.
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While HB 195 does not explicitly mention abortion drugs, its broad language covering “drugs and devices” has sparked debate about whether it could allow pharmacists to dispense mifepristone under certain circumstances.
Alaska Right to Life, and some members of the medical community have argued the bill could create a pathway for wider distribution of abortion drugs through local pharmacies.
The Fifth Circuit ruling sharply limits one of the primary methods used in recent years to access abortion medication: telehealth consultations followed by delivery by mail.
If HB 195 passes, pharmacists could enter the abortion business as a more central point of access for medications that patients can no longer easily obtain by mail.
The issue is further complicated by ongoing legal questions in Alaska courts over who may provide medication abortions, including whether advanced practice clinicians can prescribe them.
The federal stay is temporary, and the underlying case is still being reviewed. The FDA has also been directed to conduct a broader safety review, with updates expected later this year.
