Attorney General Tong Files Brief Urging Supreme Court to Stay Restrictions on Mifepristone

05/04/2026

Fifth Circuit Decision Arbitrarily and Abruptly Bans Telehealth Prescribing, Forces Patients to Medically Unnecessary In-Person Appointments

(Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong today joined a coalition of 22 states and the District of Columbia in urging the U.S. Supreme Court to stay a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit that abruptly and arbitrarily restricted access to mifepristone nationwide, a safe and effective abortion medication.

The Fifth Circuit ruling, issued on May 1, reinstated a medically unnecessary in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone, which can be safely provided through telehealth. Earlier today, the Supreme Court issued a temporary administrative stay until next Monday, allowing patients to continue to access mifepristone under the FDA requirements that have been in effect for years.

In an amicus brief filed with the Supreme Court today, Attorney General Tong and the coalition argue that the Fifth Circuit’s ruling is not supported by law or science, creates regulatory and administrative chaos nationwide, and interferes with states’ ability to protect access to reproductive health care.

Attorney General Tong is calling on the Court to continue to stay the lower court’s order and stop these restrictions. In February 2026, while the case was pending in the district court, Attorney General Tong joined a multistate amicus brief to support the availability of mifepristone via telehealth.

“Mifepristone is safe, legal and effective and we’re fighting on every possible front to keep it that way. These burdensome and arbitrary restrictions— abruptly imposed nationwide with zero medical justification—place politics above patient safety and inject needless chaos into our healthcare system. We’re urging the Supreme Court to protect the rights of women and patients to make decisions free from needless political control,” said Attorney General Tong.

Mifepristone, when used in combination with misoprostol, is the standard medication used to terminate a pregnancy through 10 weeks. Since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved mifepristone in 2000, an estimated 7.5 million people in the United States have used the medication safely. Medication abortion now accounts for 63 percent of all abortions in the formal U.S. health care system, with approximately one in four abortions provided via telehealth. Studies have consistently found mifepristone to be safe and effective.

In 2023, after extensive review, the FDA eliminated the in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone as medically unnecessary. That decision followed years of evidence, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, showing that mifepristone could be safely provided without requiring patients to appear in person. The FDA’s action allowed providers to offer mifepristone through telehealth and enabled patients to obtain the medication through certified mail-order pharmacies and other approved channels, expanding access for patients who face significant barriers to in-person care.

Attorney General Tong and the coalition argue that reinstating the in-person dispensing requirement curtails telehealth access to mifepristone, forcing patients to rely on more difficult alternatives or travel for in-person care. Telehealth has become an increasingly important way for patients in Connecticut to access abortion care, with the share of abortions provided through telemedicine growing from five percent in 2022 to 27 percent in 2025 nationwide.

The attorneys general also argue that the ruling disrupts care in states like Connecticut where abortion remains legal and protected. Since the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, clinics in states that protect abortion access have faced increased demand from both in-state and out-of-state patients. By forcing more patients to seek in-person care, the Fifth Circuit’s ruling would place new strain on clinics and health care systems that are already stretched.

Attorney General Tong and the coalition assert that the Fifth Circuit’s ruling undermines states’ sovereign authority to protect and expand access to reproductive health care. In the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, which eliminated the federal constitutional right to abortion and returned regulation of abortion to the states, many states took swift executive and legislative action to safeguard reproductive rights and expand access to medication abortion. The attorneys general argue that courts cannot leverage federal drug regulations that FDA previously determined are not medically necessary to override those state policy choices in favor of the policy choices of Louisiana or impose unnecessary barriers to care in states where abortion is legal.

The attorneys general are urging the Supreme Court to act swiftly to stay the Fifth Circuit’s decision and protect patients’ access to mifepristone.

Joining Attorney General Tong in filing today’s brief, which was led by the attorneys general of New York, California, Massachusetts, and Washington, are the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, as well as the Governor of Pennsylvania.

Today’s brief is the latest action Attorney General Tong has taken in courts across the country to preserve access to medication abortion, including joining 17 attorneys general in Washington federal court challenging other unnecessary and severe restrictions still imposed by the FDA. That case concluded in July, but the fight to ensure patients have access to medication abortion continues.

In August 2025, Attorney General Tong petitioned the FDA to remove burdensome restrictions on mifepristone, submitting extensive evidence on the safety of medication abortion as well as the burdens imposed by the FDA’s continued restrictions on mifepristone.

Free confidential abortion information is available via the Abortion Legal Hotline, a collaboration between Reproductive Equity Now and the Office of the Attorney General, with participation from law firms across the state.

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