WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday restored broad access to the abortion pill mifepristone, blocking a ruling that had 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.
Those rules had been in effect for several years until a federal appeals court imposed new restrictions last week.
The majority of abortions in the U.S. are obtained through medications, usually a combination of mifepristone and a second drug, misoprostol. The availability of those drugs has blunted the impact of abortion bans that most Republican-led states have sought to enforce since a 2022 Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade.
Louisiana sued to restrict access to mifepristone, asserting that its availability undermined the ban there.
Some Democratic-led states have laws that seek to give legal protection to those who prescribe the drugs via telehealth to patients in states with bans.
Alito's order will remain in effect for another week while both sides respond and the court more fully considers the issue.
Manufacturers of mifepristone filed emergency appeals asking the Supreme Court to step in.
Kristan Hawkins, president of the anti-abortion group Students for Life, decried Monday's decision.
"Pill pushers receive every benefit of the doubt, including today, as Justice Alito allows pill traffickers and big pharma to operate temporarily while arguments are sent to the Court,” she said in a statement.
After Friday's ruling from the appeals court, some groups that prescribe abortion pills by telehealth had planned to switch to misoprostol-only regimens.
Dr. Angel Foster, founder of The Massachusetts Abortion Access Project, said her organization was preparing to send misoprostol only on Monday afternoon but was able to switch back.
“Regardless of what happens with this regulatory issue, we and other groups will continue to provide high-quality abortion care to patients in all 50 states,” she said.
Mulvihill reported from Haddonfield, New Jersey.
A previous version of this story had a typo in a quote from Dr. Angel Foster.
Follow the AP's coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court.
The U.S. Supreme Court is seen, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
The Supreme Court is seen, Thursday, April 30, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
VENTURA, Calif. (AP) — Britney Spears pleaded guilty through her lawyer Monday to a lesser charge that will allow her to avoid jail time after California prosecutors accused her of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs.
The 44-year-old pop star, who recently completed a stint at a rehabilitation facility, didn’t appear in Ventura County court. But her lawyer, Michael A. Goldstein, pleaded guilty on her behalf to what’s commonly called a “wet reckless.” That allowed her to be sentenced to one day in jail that the judge said she served when she was booked, one year of probation, a required DUI class and state-mandated fines.
The plea offer was standard for defendants with no DUI history, no crash or injury on the road, and a low blood-alcohol level, the county district attorney’s office said. And it’s especially common for defendants who have shown motivation to address their problems and seek treatment, as Spears did when she voluntarily checked in to a substance abuse treatment center last month.
“I don’t think anybody’s happy about pleading guilty to anything, but under the circumstances, to get this behind her, I think everybody is pleased with the result,” Goldstein said after the hearing. “We appreciate the district attorney recognizing the positive steps that Britney is taking to help herself.”
Goldstein said Spears returned home after recently completing her rehab stint, and that reports that she left early were “absolutely false.” Asked what’s next for her, he replied, “I don’t know, I’m sure a lot.”
During the brief hearing, Spears received summary probation, which is informal and doesn’t involve mandatory meetings with a parole officer. She temporarily yielded her Fourth Amendment search and seizure rights if she is pulled over, meaning she must automatically yield to searches and sobriety tests. At Goldstein's request, the judge ruled this would not apply to her home.
District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said after the hearing that Spears had taken “full responsibility,” but he emphasized that DUI is a “serious crime” and said it was essential that she follow the requirements agreed to in court, which include continued substance abuse treatment, weekly visits with a therapist and monthly visits with a psychiatrist.
“We do not want Miss Spears to reoffend,” Nasarenko said.
She was charged Thursday with one misdemeanor DUI count, which meant she was not required to appear in court for her arraignment. But her representatives hadn’t said whether she would appear, and the hearing drew an unusually heavy media turnout for Ventura, a seaside city of about 110,000 people roughly 70 miles (113 kilometers) northwest of downtown LA.
After her March 4 arrest, a representative called her actions inexcusable and said that ideally, the arrest would lead to overdue change in her life.
She was pulled over for driving her black BMW quickly and erratically on U.S. 101, the California Highway Patrol said. She appeared to be impaired, took a series of field sobriety tests, was arrested and was taken to jail, the CHP said.
Authorities said in the criminal complaint that Spears had alcohol and drugs in her system, but they didn’t specify which drugs or list her blood alcohol content.
Spears grew to superstardom in the 1990s and 2000s with hits including “Toxic,” “Gimme More” and “I’m a Slave 4 U.” Most of her nine studio albums have been certified platinum, with two diamond titles: 1999’s “… Baby One More Time” and 2000s “Oops! … I Did It Again.”
She became a tabloid obsession in the early 2000s and a source of intense public scrutiny as she battled mental illness and paparazzi fought to document the details of her private life.
In 2008, Spears was placed under a court-ordered conservatorship, run primarily by her father and his lawyers, that would control her personal and financial decisions for well over a decade. It was dissolved in 2021.
Since then, she has married, divorced, and released a bestselling memoir, “The Woman in Me.”
Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko speaks following the arraignment of singer Britney Spears on DUI charges at the Ventura County Superior Court, Monday, May 4, 2026, in Ventura, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)
Ventura County prosecutor Andrew Sullivant, right, speaks during the arraignment of singer Britney Spears in a DUI case at the Ventura County Superior Court in Ventura, Calif., on Monday, May 4, 2026. (Frederic J. Brown/Pool Photo via AP)
Judge Matthew Nemerson speaks during the arraignment of singer Britney Spears in a DUI case at the Ventura County Superior Court in Ventura, Calif., on Monday, May 4, 2026. (Frederic J. Brown/Pool Photo via AP)
Michael Goldstein, left, attorney for Britney Spears, speaks during her arraignment in a DUI case at the Ventura County Superior Court in Ventura, Calif., on Monday, May 4, 2026. (Frederic J. Brown/Pool Photo via AP)
Michael Goldstein, center, attorney for Britney Spears, speaks during the arraignment of her DUI case at the Ventura County Superior Court in Ventura, Calif., on Monday, May 4, 2026. (Frederic J. Brown/Pool Photo via AP)
Ventura County prosecutor Andrew Sullivant, right, speaks during the arraignment of singer Britney Spears in a DUI case at the Ventura County Superior Court in Ventura, Calif., on Monday, May 4, 2026. (Frederic J. Brown/Pool Photo via AP)
Judge Matthew Nemerson speaks during the arraignment of singer Britney Spears in a DUI case at the Ventura County Superior Court in Ventura, Calif., on Monday, May 4, 2026. (Frederic J. Brown/Pool Photo via AP)
Michael Goldstein, left, attorney for Britney Spears, speaks during her arraignment in a DUI case at the Ventura County Superior Court in Ventura, Calif., on Monday, May 4, 2026. (Frederic J. Brown/Pool Photo via AP)
Michael Goldstein, center, attorney for Britney Spears, speaks during the arraignment of her DUI case at the Ventura County Superior Court in Ventura, Calif., on Monday, May 4, 2026. (Frederic J. Brown/Pool Photo via AP)
