In an unsigned order late  Thursday, the high court stayed an order from the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Louisiana's challenge against the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) diluted regulation of the abortion drug. The appellate court's order had agreed with Louisiana that the abortion drug must be prescribed and dispensed in-person, rather than remotely, and was immediately appealed to the Supreme Court by the abortion drug's manufacturers, Danco and GenBioPro, which are both parties to the case.

Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito both dissented, arguing that the Supreme Court should have denied the stays and blocked the remote prescribing and dispensing of mifepristone while litigation continues in the Fifth Circuit. "I write separately to note that, as Louisiana argued below, it is a criminal offense to ship mifepristone for use in abortions," Thomas observed in his dissent, citing the Comstock Act, which explicitly bans using "the mails" or "any express company or other common carrier or interactive computer service" to ship any "drug ... designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion." He continued, "As relevant to this case, mifepristone shipped to Louisiana, which bans abortion, causes nearly 1,000 abortions per month. All of this violates the Comstock Act." (Internal quotations omitted.)

Thomas further noted that Danco and GenBioPro argued, in requesting the stay, that prohibiting the remote prescribing and dispensing of the abortion drug would harm their profits. "Applicants are not entitled to a stay of an adverse court order based on lost profits from their criminal enterprise. They cannot, in any legally relevant sense, be irreparably harmed by a court order that makes it more difficult for them to commit crimes," Thomas insisted. "And, whereas it would serve the public interest to reduce applicants' opportunity to commit crimes, a stay would have the opposite effect." (Internal quotations omitted.)

Alito, who authored the Supreme Court majority's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Center overturning Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, called the decision to grant the stay "unreasoned" and "remarkable." In a lengthier dissent, he wrote, "What is at stake is the perpetration of a scheme to undermine our decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization... which restored the right of each State to decide how to regulate abortions within its borders." Noting that some states chose to diminish or even completely eliminate regulations on abortions, Alito pointed out that other states enacted laws to protect unborn children, but those laws "have been thwarted by certain medical providers, private organizations, and States that abhor laws like Louisiana's and seek to undermine their enforcement."

Pharmaceutical manufacturers and companies have "developed an operation," Alito charged, to violate the laws of pro-life states like Louisiana by shipping illegal abortion drugs across state lines. "The manufacturers of the drug, including Danco and GenBioPro, are obviously aware of what is going on, yet nevertheless supply the drug and reap profits from its felonious use in Louisiana," the justice continued. He noted that blue states with lax abortion regulation have "effectively blocked" Louisiana and other states with pro-life laws from enforcing those laws by enacting their own "shield laws" to prevent prosecution against abortionists based in blue states. "As a result, more abortions now occur each month in Louisiana than they did before Dobbs. ... By one count, nearly 1,000 abortions occur there each month."

Agreeing with Louisiana's argument, Alito laid much blame at the doorstep of the FDA, which diluted regulations surrounding the prescribing and dispensing of the abortion drug in 2021 and 2023, under ...Joe Biden, allowing the drug to be prescribed remotely and shipped through the mail—with no requisite medical examination or in-person visit to either a physician or even a pharmacy. The weakening of FDA safeguards under Biden, Alito suggested, was an expressly political response to the Supreme Court's Dobbs ruling. After Louisiana sued the FDA to restore prior mifepristone regulations, Alito recounted, "Danco and GenBioPro then filed these stay applications, and the FDA takes no position on this matter, even though it concerns the question whether an important rule that it has found to be flawed will remain in force for some unknown period of time."

"Unless the Fifth Circuit's order spurs the FDA into moving on its safety review, there is no indication that the Fifth Circuit's order will adversely affect the manufacturers whatsoever in the near future. All the evidence is to the contrary," Alito posited, arguing that Danco and GenBioPro cannot claim irreparable harm due to the appellate court's order, a necessary factor when requesting emergency injunctive relief. The justice noted that the FDA has not enforced in-person prescribing or dispensing requirements for the drug since 2021 and that that "status quo" is likely to remain in place for at least another six months, while the FDA conducts an internal review of the abortion drug. "So, at present, it is most unlikely that the manufacturers would be at all affected by the Fifth Circuit's order for quite some time."

The Supreme Court's decision to halt the Fifth Circuit Court's order has drawn criticism from pro-life leaders, who had hoped that the pro-life laws of Louisiana and other states would be defended by the high court. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said in a statement, "The Court's action today perpetuates the Biden-era murder by mail policy that undermines the right of states to protect life and endangers women. This policy, left in place by the Trump FDA has driven an estimated 21% increase in abortion." Pledging to continue fighting "the horrors that lie beneath mail order abortion," Perkins continued, "For those who were hoping the Court would kick this can down the road, the Court did—right into the fall's election."

Perkins called on the FDA to "immediately suspend mifepristone and its generic forms from the market, while it rapidly conducts a transparent, scientifically unbiased assessment of their risks and safety—ideally resulting in their permanent removal from the market." He added, "We also call upon the DOJ to enforce the Comstock Act, as noted by Justice Thomas in his dissent, thereby safeguarding the constitutional authority of the states to enact and enforce pro-life laws." Perkins concluded, "Finally, we urge President Trump to recall the victory of federalism in abortion policy in Dobbs brought about by his excellent Supreme Court appointments. His Department of Justice must now support that decision and the ability of states to enact their own abortion laws without interference from other states. Justice Alito is correct here."

In conversation with Perkins on Thursday night's episode of "Washington Watch," FRC Vice President for Policy and Government Affairs Travis Weber said that the "status quo" on the abortion drug is "untenable." "What in effect this is, is a continued stay, unfortunately. But the case lives for another day," Weber said of the Supreme Court's brief, unsigned order. He noted that at least 20 states are currently litigating against the FDA's refusal to regulate mifepristone. "They're saying, 'Our states are being undermined by your policy, your FDA and DOJ policy of a permissive regime, which allows the drug to be mailed in and undermined state laws.' And the DOJ is not enforcing it. So the situation is untenable. The issue is contentious," he emphasized.

Weber also noted that President Donald Trump's Department of Justice (DOJ) did not intervene in the case in this instance. "That's a significant step and a positive one, because they don't want to be aligned with these drug manufacturers," he suggested. "Why would the Trump administration want to side with shady drug manufacturers who are responsible for the termination of unborn life, the killing of the unborn? Right now, I don't think Trump wants that on his watch."

Nonetheless, Weber called on the Trump administration to take action to protect unborn Americans. He noted that Roe and Casey were overturned by the Supreme Court, asking, "But what is our nation doing with it? What is our federal government doing with it? What are the people of America doing with this? Are we going to continue to choose abortion and choose abortion for the reasons that many people do?" He answered, "We still need to bring moral clarity to these situations." Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

S.A. McCarthy serves as a news writer at The Washington Stand.

To receive daily emails from Breaking Christian News to your inbox CLICK HERE

This Sunday, May 17, Franklin Graham and Cissie Graham Lynch Join Rededicate 250 to Give Thanks to God and Seek His Forgiveness and Mercy for America

An American Shabbat

The Bible, America 250, and Restoring 'What Really Matters'

'We Are in a Spiritual War': Sean Feucht Issues Urgent Warning [Video]

Cuba Falling: There's a Lot Going On Right Now. This Could Be the Breaking Point

Senate Votes 99-0 to Cut Off its Pay during Shutdowns

SCOTUS Allows Abortion Drug 'Status Quo' to Stand as Litigation Continues

Supreme Court UNANIMOUSLY Rules Freight Brokers Can Be Sued for Negligently Hiring Illegal Alien and Foreign Truckers in Major 9-0 Decision

Trump Departs China after 'Great' 2-Day Talks With Xi

CIA Whistleblower Presents Damning Picture of Biden Administration Cover-up of COVID Origins

Message from Franklin Graham for America

Australia Calls the Nations to Pray for 72 Hours for the USA at this Historic Time of Rededication to God

Premier Danielle Smith Vows to Appeal Alberta Court Decision Overruling Separatist Petition

Texas Student EXPOSES Woke High School's War on Conservative Kids, SILENCING Republicans While Openly Promoting Sharia Law and Islam

Trump Admin Blocks AI Company from Recruiting Foreigners for Hiring Over American Workers

HHS Launches Brilliant MAHA Action Plan to Curb Psychiatric Overprescribing

JD Vance's Explosive Fraud Crackdown Is About to Make Some Blue-State Governors Very Nervous

Trump Turns Iran into China's Problem and Forces Xi to Choose Between Iran's Regime and Stability

[WATCH] American Idol Winner Glorifies God in Victory: 'At the Cross, at the Cross, I Surrender My Life'

A Christian King and Fulani Muslim Chiefs Build Bridges of Peace: Exclusive from Nigeria