Medication abortion, which accounts for more than half of all abortions in the United States, has become more common since the Supreme Court overturned the federal right to abortion this summer.
But in federal courts and state legislatures, abortion opponents are trying to limit the use of abortion-inducing pills. Meanwhile, abortion rights supporters have filed lawsuits arguing the opposite — that federal approval of the drugs should prevail over state restrictions.
In January, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration made permanent its 2021 ruling that abortion medications mifepristone and misoprostol are safe enough to be administered through a telemedicine consultation, rather than an in-person visit, with pills delivered by mail.
