Appeals court upholds access to abortion drug while tightening rules

A federal appeals court late Wednesday preserved access to the abortion drug mifepristone but tightened rules so that the medication cannot be dispensed by mail and can given only to women who are at most seven weeks into gestation, not 10. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued the ruling after the Biden administration appealed a decision from Texas U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump appointee who ruled that the Food and Drug Administration violated federal standards by rushing the pill's approval process.