United States: US Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has temporarily blocked lower court rulings that imposed temporary restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone.

Mr. Alito imposed a five-day stay after a ruling by a conservative federal judge in Texas, parts of which were then upheld by a conservative appellate court based in New Orleans. For now, access to medication abortion remains unchanged until April 19.

The pause gives the high court more time to deliberate on the restrictions imposed by the lower court. The Department of Justice and the drug’s manufacturer, Danco, had asked the Supreme Court to intervene to stop those restrictions.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved mifepristone in 2000. The US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision, upholding parts of the ruling by federal judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of Texas, rolled back action taken by the FDA after 2016 to expand access to the drug.

The restrictions that were set to take effect include limiting mifepristone’s use after seven weeks of pregnancy (it is currently approved until 10 weeks) and banning the delivery of the drug by mail.

Danco, the mifepristone drug manufacturer, also appealed to the Supreme Court for intervention, pointing to the “regulatory chaos” that would be unleashed if limitations on the drug went into effect.

“This is a dark day for public health, especially for reproductive rights and the reliance on science and medical expertise to guide decisions about what drugs are safe and effective and should be available to patients,” Mr. Abby Long, Danco’s director of public affairs, commented.

WORLD ROUNDUP: US President arrives in Belfast in a historic visit to Ireland