Reasons for hope after the latest abortion ruling

On Friday, a Louisiana court reinstated the in-person requirement to receive an abortion in the state. On Saturday, two of the largest makers of abortion pills sued, and Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito ruled on Monday that the pills would go back on the market. However, he did not say that they would stay there, and, given how the Court responded to a similar case two years ago, there’s reason to wonder if further changes to abortion laws could be coming soon.

Why it matters: Nearly two-thirds of all abortions are now performed through the use of the abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol, with roughly a quarter of all abortions provided through telemedicine rather than an in-person visit. The FDA is currently reviewing whether those drugs are as safe as previously claimed, particularly given the little guidance and oversight provided before they’re taken. Any rules—from the courts or the FDA—that would return to the in-person requirement could have a dramatic impact on how many unborn lives are lost through abortion each year. 

The backstory: Abortion pill is back on the market…for now

A three-judge panel in Louisiana ruled on Friday that the state was within its rights to require health care providers to only prescribe the most common abortion drug—mifepristone—after the expectant mother had seen a doctor in person. The in-person requirement was part of the standard treatment plan for those seeking a medicinal abortion, but it was suspended in 2021 due to Covid and then permanently done away with in 2023. 

In the years since, a number of lawsuits have been filed by those seeking to, at the very least, turn back the clock to a time when women were required to visit their doctor before attaining drugs that would end their pregnancy. To this point, each challenge has either been lost in court or failed to get that far. And the same is, at least temporarily, true for the Louisiana court’s decision as well.

Two of the primary suppliers of the abortifacient asked the Supreme Court to pause the implementation of the lower court’s ruling. As mentioned in this morning’s Daily Article by Dr. Jim Denison, Justice Samuel Alito did just that. But while Mifepristone is back on the market, Alito’s order also instructed the FDA and Louisiana to respond to the decision by Thursday, with a Monday deadline for when the temporary stay is set to expire. 

In other words, the lower court’s decision was paused, but it’s unclear how much—if anything—can be gleaned from it regarding the drug’s current fate. 

The ultimate verdict could have massive ramifications for the state of abortion in America. 

How abortion has changed

Nearly two-thirds of all abortions involve the two-drug regimen on trial, and roughly one-fourth of all abortions are provided through telemedicine services. That latter statistic is particularly important to the current case because many states where abortion is still legal have passed “shield laws” to protect providers from out-of-state prosecution when they send the pills to areas where abortion is illegal. Roughly 100,000 abortions per year in states like Louisiana are facilitated in this way.  

However, should the Court allow states to reinstate the necessity of a doctor’s visit before receiving mifepristone, it would allow those that have essentially outlawed abortions to limit the telemedicine and mail-order availability of the drugs that kill so many.  

That said, the FDA is currently reviewing whether mifepristone should remain on the market and expects to issue a final verdict by the end of the year. The Trump administration had previously asked the lower court to hold off on issuing its ruling until that investigation was complete (that doing so would punt the issue past this Fall’s midterms is surely a coincidence…).

Regardless of what the FDA decides or how the case with Louisiana turns out, though, this issue is not going away anytime soon. Texas and Florida, for example, sued the FDA in December, arguing that mifepristone should not be available on the market and that its delivery by mail violates the Comstock Acts of 1873. Missouri, Kansas, and Idaho have also filed their own case to restrict the abortion-inducing medication as well.

And given how the Supreme Court previously ruled on this issue in 2024, there’s reason to hope that, at some point, the right case will come along to either put an end to or severely restrict the availability of mail-order abortion. 

Reasons for hope 

When the Court decided in 2024 that abortion pills were legal, it was seen as a loss by many who wanted the practice restricted. However, it’s important to remember that the unanimous verdict did not declare that mifepristone should be legal, but just that the people who brought the case didn’t have standing to challenge its status. Justice Kavanaugh, who wrote the majority opinion, strongly intimated that should that change, then the Court’s ruling may change as well. 

In fact, the majority appeared to essentially ask for the chance to take up the case again, but in a way that would allow them to render a different decision. Time will tell if any of the cases currently working their way toward their docket will meet that standard, but they’re trying. 

Moreover, there’s also the chance that the FDA will make the necessity of a Court decision moot. 

A 2025 study from the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC) of more than 865,000 cases since 2017 found that “10.93 percent of women experience sepsis, infection, hemorrhaging, or another serious adverse event within 45 days following a mifepristone abortion.” That means, according to their results, serious complications are twenty-two times more likely to occur than either the FDA or the pill’s makers have claimed.

And while many have questioned the findings of that EPPC study, arguing that basing their research on diagnostic codes rather than a more targeted search skews the results, the differences in methodology are unlikely to explain a gap of that size. Moreover, even the manufacturers of the abortion pills state on the label that many of these adverse reactions occur at a similar rate to the study in question. 

Ultimately, the pills are not as safe as many are led to believe, particularly if they’re taken by someone whose only interaction with a doctor before receiving them is a quick video conference with no way to mitigate factors like ectopic pregnancy or other pre-existing conditions. The studies that initially led to the FDA’s approval do not represent the circumstances in which many—if not most—of these abortions take place, and that is particularly the case in states where abortion is otherwise illegal. 

As such, there is again reason for hope that the rules around mifepristone may change, and that hope is worth celebrating.

Spiritual application: Where is your hope?

One of the hardest parts about being pro-life in an increasingly pro-choice culture is the knowledge that some form of abortion is likely to always be a possibility for those who wish to end their pregnancy. While we can and should work to change both laws and—more importantly—hearts, we can’t afford to become so fixated on that goal that we fail to appreciate the smaller wins along the way.

Just as heaven rejoices when a single soul is saved, we too should rejoice every time a mother chooses life (Luke 15:7). Remember, no matter how unrestricted abortion becomes, we will never get to the point in this country where women are forced to get an abortion. It will remain their choice, which means we can help them choose life. 

The fact is that very few women get an abortion because they want to. Rather, their decision is typically motivated by some combination of fear, finances, and the general circumstances of their lives. Those are all areas where the church is well-suited to help. 

Our calling as Christians is to see the inherent value in human life—both the child’s and the parents’—and to respond in a way that helps them to experience God’s love and to make the choices that he can bless. 

We don’t need Congress, the FDA, or the Supreme Court to do that. And the fact that the abortion rate has steadily risen since Roe v Wade was overturned (an estimated 1,126,000 unborn lives were lost in 2025 alone) should serve as a reminder that changing the laws will never be enough.

But that’s alright. After all, if we ever reach the point where we’re placing more hope in our elected officials than in our ability to minister to the people around us, then we’re already headed in the wrong direction.  

So while we won’t change everyone’s minds, that’s not what the Lord is asking of us. He just wants us to worry about the minds and hearts of those around us. And if all of God’s people did that, we could finally see the change in our culture so many have hoped and prayed for.

Will you do your part today?

God is good

Hurricane Helene tore through much of Appalachia more than a year and a half ago, and much of the region has yet to recover. In the midst of such devastation, many sought solace from churches in the region. But while the Church was still present, the buildings in which they met were often wiped away alongside the rest of the community. Since then, thousands of volunteers with Samaritan’s Purse have worked to rebuild homes and churches to help people get back on their feet. 

Kingdom impact

Holt Whitson, pastor of Halls Chapel Bible Church in Burnsville, North Caroline, said of the help they have received, “It amazes me that this little church out in the middle of nowhere was the object of God’s grace and mercy and He never forgot us. When you look at where we were and where we are, it just overwhelms us. We lost everything. But this has been the greatest witness. Thank God for his faithfulness.”

Prayer point

Will you pray that churches in the area continue to receive the help they need to rebuild? Will you also pray that God continues to work through those churches to bless their communities as well?

Samaritan’s Purse has more on the story