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Healthcare providers in New Hampshire are applauding the Supreme Court’s move to temporarily restore access to the abortion pill mifepristone but warned more restrictions could lie ahead.

The justices’ order blocks a lower court’s ruling from last week, which banned prescriptions for the Food and Drug Administration-approved drug through the mail or telehealth services.

Jinelle Hall, executive director of the Equality Health Center in Concord, said attacks on the drug have been ongoing since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022.

"We are still providing care," Hall pointed out. "We are still here. It is still safe. It is still legal, and our team is going to continue to be here every day."

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all noted mail access to the drug has been especially important for rural patients, who could be hours away from the nearest clinic. The Supreme Court’s order stands until May 11 and follows a lawsuit by the state of Louisiana, where officials argue the availability of mifepristone by mail has allowed abortions there to continue despite the state’s near-total abortion ban.

Abortion remains legal in New Hampshire through up to 24 weeks of pregnancy. Abortion medication is approved for use up to 10 weeks and now accounts for more than 60% of abortions in the U.S. each year.

Kayla Montgomery, vice president of public affairs for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, said the back-and-forth rulings on the drug have created confusion for patients trying to navigate their own care. She added more than a dozen bills to limit abortion access have been introduced at the statehouse this year alone.

"This is a very difficult time," Montgomery acknowledged. "We have to make sure that we’re reminding our lawmakers that people want more healthcare and more accessible healthcare and not these restrictions on abortion."

She called the attacks on abortion medication “politically motivated” and argued anti-abortion lawmakers are working to spread misinformation about the safety of the drug, which has been available for the past 25 years.

She stressed state lawmakers are also working to limit regulations on so-called crisis pregnancy centers, which are often run by abortion opponents and made to look like medical facilities yet do not provide reproductive care.