The Supreme Court on Monday restored broad access to the abortion pill mifepristone, blocking a Friday ruling from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals that threatened to upend one of the main ways abortions are provided across the nation.
The order, signed by Justice Samuel Alito, temporarily allows women seeking abortions to obtain the pill at pharmacies or through the mail, without an in-person visit to a doctor.
Steven Ertelt, editor of Life News, is not that concerned.
"The Supreme Court issued not a ruling, but basically just a statement this morning, essentially restoring mail-order abortions, and what it did was it put those back in place for one week," Ertelt told AFN. "What they're doing is allowing the makers of the abortion pills, as well as Louisiana and the pro-life states that want to stop mail-order abortions, a chance to file their paperwork, to have everything completed so they can issue some sort of ruling on what's going to happen."
Ertelt reiterated that this is not the ultimate, final ruling.
Carol Tobias, president of National Right to Life, made the same statement to AFN.
"It is a temporary procedural step that leaves unresolved the very real concerns about the safety of these drugs and the decision under the Biden administration's FDA to recklessly remove longstanding safeguards," said Tobias.
Both pro-life leaders were elated by the 5th Circuit's ruling, which came down late Friday.
But regardless of how courts come down, and no matter what politicians are doing with executive orders and bills, Ertelt and Tobias said that pro-life activists need to engage with people so as to save babies and women from abortion.
"Contact President (Donald) Trump," said Ertelt. "President Trump can eliminate this entire issue if he issues an executive order overturning the Biden rule, (because) the Biden rule is what allowed mail-order abortions in the first place."
Meanwhile, Ertelt recommended states pass laws stopping mail-order abortions.
"A state abortion ban doesn't do any good if a company from out-of-state can come in and mail the abortion pills to people in that state," said Ertelt. "There's definitely a role for people to play."
Tobias hopes that good decisions are made and lives are saved.
"But we have to be talking to our family, our friends, our neighbors, our communities and educating them that killing unborn children is not an answer and these pills are harming women as well," Tobias told AFN. "So, everyone has to keep working to save the babies and the moms."
