Shortly after the brief was filed, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., acting on behalf of the Court, issued a temporary stay that preserves current access to mifepristone, including through telehealth and mail distribution, while the Court considers the case.
Source: N.M. Department of Justice
Albuquerque, N.M. – Attorney General Raúl Torrez today joined a coalition of 22 states and the District of Columbia in filing an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to block a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit that would significantly restrict access to mifepristone, a safe and effective medication used in abortion care.
Shortly after the brief was filed, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., acting on behalf of the Court, issued a temporary stay that preserves current access to mifepristone, including through telehealth and mail distribution, while the Court considers the case.
“This medication has been a critical tool for ensuring that women can make informed decisions about their own reproductive care, and these restrictions would place unnecessary burdens on patients and health care providers in New Mexico,” said Attorney General Raúl Torrez. “For more than two decades, the FDA has exercised its congressionally delegated authority to evaluate the safety and efficacy of mifepristone, and courts have long recognized that judges are not equipped to substitute their own views for the agency’s scientific judgment.”
In the amicus brief, the coalition argues that the Fifth Circuit’s ruling is not supported by law or science and would create regulatory and administrative confusion nationwide. The states further assert that reinstating outdated restrictions, such as requiring in-person dispensing, would undermine access to care, particularly in rural and medically underserved communities, and interfere with states’ authority to protect access to reproductive health care within their borders.
The coalition also emphasized that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration removed the in-person dispensing requirement in 2023 after extensive review, finding it medically unnecessary. Since its approval in 2000, mifepristone has been used safely by millions of patients and is now a cornerstone of modern reproductive health care, including through telehealth.
The Supreme Court’s temporary stay ensures that these existing access pathways remain in place as litigation continues, preventing immediate disruptions to patients and providers in New Mexico and across the country.
Joining Attorney General Torrez in filing the brief, led by the attorneys general of New York, California, Massachusetts, and Washington, are the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, as well as the Governor of Pennsylvania.
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