Supreme Court Faces New Mifepristone Ban Challenge After Fifth Circuit Ruling

The U.S. Supreme Court is once again at the center of the abortion rights battle after the far-right United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit moved to restrict access to the abortion drug mifepristone on April 2, 2025.

This marks the second attempt by the 5th Circuit to ban the drug, following a similar effort in 2023. Within hours of the latest decision, two pharmaceutical companies—Danco Laboratories and GenBioPro—filed emergency appeals with the Supreme Court, seeking intervention. The cases, Danco Laboratories v. Louisiana and GenBioPro v. Louisiana, are now before the justices.

The 5th Circuit’s initial reasoning in 2023 was so flawed that the Supreme Court unanimously rejected it, ruling that federal courts lacked jurisdiction to hear the case. The current legal arguments mirror those in FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (2024), where the Court blocked a mifepristone ban in a unanimous decision.

Legal experts expect the Supreme Court to rule similarly in Danco Laboratories v. Louisiana, reaffirming that no federal court has jurisdiction over the challenge. However, concerns persist given the Court’s recent anti-abortion rulings, including Medina v. Planned Parenthood (2025), where the Republican majority overturned a two-year-old precedent to cut Medicaid funding to abortion providers.

In a temporary but promising move, Justice Samuel Alito—who typically reviews emergency appeals from the 5th Circuit—issued a stay blocking the 5th Circuit’s decision until May 11, 2025. This provides a brief reprieve for abortion providers and patients, though the long-term outcome remains uncertain.

The 5th Circuit’s decision in Danco Laboratories v. Louisiana threatens to eliminate nationwide access to mifepristone, despite claims that its ruling applies only to certain states. The drug is a critical component of medication abortion, used by millions of patients in the U.S. each year.

Abortion rights advocates remain cautious, noting that the Supreme Court’s Republican majority has increasingly sided with anti-abortion restrictions, even when doing so contradicts prior precedents. The Court’s willingness to follow its own ruling in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (2024) will be closely watched as the legal battle over mifepristone continues.