Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito issued an administrative stay on a Texas court ruling blocking restrictions on abortion pills set to take effect tonight.
The abortion medication mifepristone remains available while the Supreme Court considers the case.
The order is stayed until 11:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday. Alito asked plaintiffs to respond by noon ET Tuesday.
The Department of Justice on behalf of the FDA asked the court to impose an immediate stay to preserve the status quo while the justices consider an emergency appeal from the Biden administration and the pharmaceutical company that distributes mifepristone.
Parts of the ruling by US District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk that restricted access to the drug were set to go into effect Saturday at 1 a.m. ET, but the latest development puts off that deadline in the fast-moving dispute.
Alito issued the order because he has jurisdiction over the federal appeals court involved in the case.
Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar said in the filing from Biden's Justice Department earlier Friday that it “concerns unprecedented lower court orders countermanding FDA's scientific judgment and unleashing regulatory chaos by suspending the existing FDA-approved conditions of use for mifepristone.”
She said that if the ruling were allowed to stand it would “inflict grave harm on women, the medical system, the agency, and the public.”
The temporary stay did not indicate how the court would vote.
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