More than 100 Republican lawmakers are now asking the Supreme Court to restore stricter abortion pill rules nationwide, arguing that current policies allowing mifepristone to be prescribed online and shipped through the mail have opened the door to coercion, abuse, and dangerous medical complications.
The lawmakers filed an amicus brief supporting Louisiana’s legal challenge against the FDA’s loosened abortion pill regulations. The filing is backed by a major bloc of congressional Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senator Bill Cassidy, and Congressman Chris Smith.
At the center of the dispute is the Biden administration’s decision to remove the long-standing requirement that women obtain mifepristone in person from a medical provider. The FDA changes allowed abortion pills to be prescribed through telemedicine appointments and delivered by mail.
Republicans argue those changes stripped away critical safeguards.
The brief warns that the current system “increases the risk of coercion” and cites multiple alleged cases where women were pressured or allegedly forced into taking abortion drugs obtained online.
One of the most prominent examples involves plaintiff Rosalie Markezich, who claims her boyfriend ordered mifepristone from a California physician and coerced her into taking the medication.
“Had she visited a doctor in person, her boyfriend would never have been able to obtain the drugs he made [her] take,” the filing argues.
Lawmakers also referenced other reported incidents, including a Louisiana case where a mother allegedly ordered abortion pills online for her teenage daughter, resulting in a medical emergency. Another case cited involves a man accused of secretly administering abortion drugs to a pregnant woman without her knowledge.
Republicans argue that face-to-face medical visits once provided opportunities for doctors to identify signs of coercion, domestic abuse, trafficking, or medical conditions that could make chemical abortions especially dangerous.
Senator Cassidy said the safeguards should be restored immediately.
“Chemical abortion drugs kill innocent children and put mothers’ lives at risk,” Cassidy said. “Safeguards protecting against coercion, such as the in-person dispensing requirement, must be reinstated immediately.”
The legal battle escalated after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with Louisiana and reinstated the in-person dispensing requirement while the larger lawsuit moves forward.
Republican lawmakers also argue the FDA exceeded its authority by allowing abortion drugs to be distributed through the mail, pointing to the Comstock Act — a federal law that prohibits mailing items “designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion.”
Congressman Chris Smith further claimed the drug presents serious medical risks, citing estimates that more than one in ten women experience complications such as hemorrhaging or infection after taking abortion pills.
The filing additionally accuses the FDA of weakening adverse-event reporting standards and then relying on incomplete safety data to justify expanded access.
Meanwhile, abortion pill manufacturers are urgently asking the Supreme Court to block the lower court ruling.
Danco Laboratories and GenBioPro filed emergency appeals over the weekend, warning that reinstating the in-person requirement is already causing “immediate confusion and upheaval” nationwide.
The companies argue pharmacies, doctors, and patients are suddenly facing rapidly shifting rules that threaten access to a system used by millions of women over the past several years.
GenBioPro specifically warned that the ruling effectively eliminates mail-order abortion pill access altogether.
The Supreme Court is now weighing whether to temporarily pause the 5th Circuit’s order while the broader legal fight continues.
