State of Louisiana v. Food & Drug Administration is about the FDA’s 2023 approval of mail order abortion drugs. Louisiana successfully asked the Fifth Circuit Court to reinstate the in-person dispensing requirement. Now, abortion drug providers have asked the Supreme Court to decide whether that ruling takes effect while the case continues.
Case Status
- Emergency docket appeal – application for stay filed by Danco Laboratories and GenBioPro
- Application for stay granted – allows the abortion pill to be mailed nationwide
ERLC Update
What is this case about?
Important note: This case was on emergency appeal to the Supreme Court, a different, expedited docket of cases from their usual merits docket. Originally filed as State of Louisiana v. Food & Drug Administration, the Supreme Court appeal was filed by the two intervening abortion drug manufacturers, Danco Laboratories and GenBioPro, which amended the name of the case for the Supreme Court’s purposes.
Following the Dobbs decision, the Biden Administration worked swiftly to expand abortion access across the nation, mainly by revising the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS), or safety standards, to allow abortion drugs to be prescribed through telehealth and mailed nationwide, including to states with pro-life laws. As of today, roughly 60% of all abortions are done through the abortion regimen, mifepristone and misoprostol.
In October 2025, Louisiana filed a lawsuit against the Food & Drug Administration (FDA), the agency responsible for revising the safety standards. Louisiana was joined by Rosalie Markezich, a Louisiana resident facing an unexpected pregnancy, whose boyfriend ordered abortion drugs into the state and gave them to Rosalie without her knowledge. The two primary abortion pill drug manufacturers, Danco Laboratories and GenBioPro, intervened in the case to defend access to abortion.
Meanwhile, the FDA attempted to pause the case at the district court while they conduct their long-promised safety review of abortion drugs. The district court agreed to pause the case, prompting Louisiana to appeal to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and ask that the telehealth prescription and mailing of the abortion pills be halted during the proceedings of the safety review. On May 1, the Fifth Circuit agreed to prevent telehealth prescription and mail-order abortion drugs, reinstating the in-person dispensing requirement.
This prompted the Danco Labs to file an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court, asking them to “stay,” or prevent, the Fifth Circuit’s order from taking effect. On May 4th, Justice Alito, who oversees the Fifth Circuit, singularly granted a seven day administrative pause of the Fifth Circuit’s order while the parties in the cases file arguments with the Supreme Court.
What is the question in the case?
Whether the Supreme Court should pause a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit preventing mifepristone from being prescribed by telemedicine and delivered by mail.
Why does it matter to Southern Baptists?
Southern Baptists affirm that every human is created in the image of God. As stated in these 2025 and 2022 resolutions of the Southern Baptist Convention, the Bible clearly and unequivocally affirms “the preborn child is a person, bearing the image of God, from the moment of conception” (Gen. 1:27; 9:6), regardless of age, level of ability, or stage of development. This is a truth to which Christians in every century have testified and are called to bear witness in every age and in every sphere of life. Additionally, the Convention’s Baptist Faith & Message affirms that “children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord” and calls us to “speak on behalf of the unborn and contend for the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death.”
In the 2025 resolution “On Standing Against the Moral Evils and Medical Dangers of Chemical Abortion Pills,” Southern Baptists called upon the FDA “to immediately revoke its approval of mifepristone, restore all previously removed safety protocols, and reevaluate chemical abortion drugs using real-world data.”
Louisiana is challenging the abortion industry in Court to protect women and babies from the harms of abortion. Studies show 1 in 10 women experience adverse events after a chemical abortion, requiring medical treatment. With the FDA’s safety standards, women may now take these drugs in states that outlaw them in total isolation.
We call on Southern Baptists to pray for the outcome of this case and pray for favor, that the truth of God’s Word about the sanctity of human life would align with the constitutional arguments raised, and, ultimately, for the end of chemical abortion.
Supreme Court Ruling
In a short, unsigned order, the Supreme Court paused the Fifth Circuit decision, allowing abortion pills to be sent via mail nationwide. As a result, abortion drug providers can continue sending mifepristone into pro-life states, defying the laws of those states, circumventing an in-person consultation with a provider, and putting thousands of women and babies at risk. Justices Thomas and Alito dissented, but the other justices’ votes were not made public, as is common with emergency docket cases.
The case now returns to the Fifth Circuit where the appellate court will consider the merits of the appeal. Once the Fifth Circuit rules, the case will be passed back to the district court, which paused the proceedings of the case at the request of the FDA, as they asserted their on-going safety review of mifepristone.
News about this case
- Update: Supreme Court Shamefully Reinstates Access to Mail-Order Abortions, Sends Case Back to Fifth Circuit
- Update and Call to Prayer: Supreme Court Pauses Fifth Circuit Mail-Order Abortion Drug Decision
- ERLC Celebrates Fifth Circuit Decision Blocking FDA Mail-Order Abortion Drug
- Supreme Court stays Fifth Circuit ban on abortion pills by mail, restoring access
