The Trump administration has asked for a stay before a federal court ruling on a Louisiana lawsuit seeking to end an FDA policy permitting physicians to prescribe abortion medication without an in-person visit, the Louisiana Illuminator reported Jan. 28.
Here are four things to know about the action and what comes next:
1. The Department of Justice filed for the stay Jan. 27 in a lawsuit filed by state Attorney General Liz Murrill against the FDA in October 2025. Ms. Murrill is asking the agency to reverse regulatory action it took in 2023 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic patient access to physicians was more limited. According to the report, Ms. Murrill specifically seeks to restrict interstate shipments of mifepristone, an abortion medication.
2. FDA Administrator Marty Makarly began a review of the drug’s safety in September 2025. Reproductive health advocates have said the review isn’t needed based on decades of safe use without a significant history of complications, according to the report.
3. In his request for a stay, Assistant U.S. Attorney General Brett Shumate said that Louisiana does not have standing to sue the FDA because it cannot supplant federal authority. He also said that if the court were to accept the state’s arguments, it could lead states to challenge any federal action they claim could increase crime or place more burden on state authorities to enforce, according to the report.
4. In a social media post Jan. 27, Ms. Murrill pushed back on the stay request, referencing her attempts to prosecute physicians in California and New York who have been indicted for prescribing and shipping abortion medication to Louisiana residents. Those attempts have been blocked by state shield laws.
