The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a widely used abortion pill can still be prescribed over telehealth and accessed by mail, bringing relief to Maine’s reproductive healthcare network.
The order blocks a lower-court ruling from May 1 that the abortion pill mifepristone could only be obtained in person from healthcare providers. Maine’s providers say it has caused them weeks of confusion and uncertainty over what to tell patients.
In the first half of 2025, 27% of all abortions in Maine were provided via telehealth.
“Expanded access via telehealth has helped patients receive care in a more timely and equitable way, especially for those who live in rural areas where the nearest abortion provider is hours away,” said George Hill, president and CEO of Maine Family Planning, a statewide reproductive and sexual healthcare provider.
“Mifepristone is just as safe when provided via telehealth as it is in a clinic,” he said.
Nicole Clegg, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, said the attempt to restrict mifepristone was “rooted in politics, not in science or medicine.”
The organization sees patients in Maine at four health centers and by telehealth. Medication abortions made up 66% of the 1,259 abortions it provided in fiscal year 2025.
After the lower-court ruling, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England had planned to change its medication abortion regimen to only include the drug misoprostol, which is typically administered in combination with mifepristone. While safe and effective, Clegg said the misoprostol-only regimen can take longer and cause more discomfort for patients.
Maine was the second state in the country to provide telehealth abortion care in 2016. Today, leaders say medication abortion remains safe, legal and accessible via telehealth.
But litigation over the issue will continue in the lower courts. It could eventually return to the Supreme Court — the same court that in 2022 overturned Roe v. Wade, eliminating the nationwide right to abortion.
Clegg said her organization is prepared for a long fight.
“We know that the next attack is just around the corner, but we are not going anywhere,” Clegg said. “We will never stop fighting to control our bodies and our lives, no matter what.”