Abortion foes plan to push pill restrictions in the states

Anti-abortion groups are shifting their fight to statehouses while they wait on a federal review of mifepristone, pushing more states to mandate ultrasounds, waiting periods, and in-person visits before women can get abortion pills. The FDA currently requires none of those things, yet ten states without full abortion bans impose them anyway, including Florida, where a six-week limit paired with a 24-hour wait can push women past the legal window entirely.

Medication abortion now accounts for roughly 65% of all abortions and 28% happen via telehealth, according to KFF. The Trump administration's FDA review, expected to produce an update but no final ruling this week, has reportedly been timed to avoid controversy before the midterms, and multiple related lawsuits have been delayed on the same schedule.

Anti-abortion leaders told reporters they won't accept a finding that mifepristone is safe for telehealth use regardless of what the review says, citing non-peer-reviewed white papers over the peer-reviewed studies showing low risk. Abortion rights advocates counter that the scrutiny reflects stigma rather than medicine, noting no other telehealth category faces this level of mandated in-person requirements.

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