Contact: (916) 210-6000, agpressoffice@doj.ca.gov

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to stay an order by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit that would have restricted access to mifepristone by reinstating a medically unnecessary requirement that it be dispensed in person. The stay will remain in effect pending the Fifth Circuit appeal as well as pending review by the Supreme Court, if certiorari is granted. In February 2026, while the case was pending in the district court, Attorney General Bonta joined a multistate amicus brief to support the availability of mifepristone via telehealth. Earlier this month, he also joined an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court not to restrict telehealth access. 

“When it comes to protecting reproductive rights, California takes a backseat to no one,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Study after study has demonstrated that mifepristone is safe and effective, and we are proud to have fought against the medically unnecessary requirement that patients obtain it in person. As I’ve said before, we should be guided by science, not politics.”

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. Mifepristone, when used in combination with misoprostol, is the FDA-approved regimen used to terminate a pregnancy through 10 weeks. Medication abortion now accounts for 63% of all abortions in the formal U.S. healthcare system, with approximately one in four abortions provided via telehealth.