Physicians Fear Prescribing Abortion Pills in Conflict with Court Orders

Legal experts suggest that doctors can circumvent the restrictions on abortion pill mifepristone by prescribing it off-label, but physicians fear that anti-abortion advocacy groups or conservative state officials could target them for doing so. The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals is set to hear arguments on May 17 from anti-abortion medical groups that are seeking to overturn FDA approval of the pills and functionally ban their use nationwide. The gestational limit could be one of the simplest pieces of the court order for doctors to sidestep, but providers fear that they could face threats of prosecution, harassment, retaliation from state licensing boards, and civil litigation.