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The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a widely used abortion medication could continue to be prescribed by telehealth and sent to patients by mail. Two manufacturers of mifepristone had asked the Supreme Court to intervene after the conservative U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit restricted access to the medication. The Supreme Court’s brief order means that the Fifth Circuit’s decision will remain blocked, perhaps for months, while litigation continues in the lower courts. The issue could eventually return to the high court. (Marimow, 5/14)

The Indiana Supreme Court has denied Planned Parenthood’s request to have its case challenging the near-total abortion ban transferred to the Hoosier state’s high court. According to an order filed by the Indiana Supreme Court on Thursday, the justices denied the nonprofit organization’s petition to have the case transferred to the Indiana Supreme Court. This marks the latest development in the case after the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld the state’s abortion ban in August 2025, ruling against abortion providers on whether Indiana’s abortion law violates the state’s constitution. (Haughn, 5/14)

The Missouri House on Wednesday passed legislation providing rights to "a child born alive during or after an abortion or attempted abortion." Members of the House voted 102-46 to pass the Senate bill, which includes what supporters call the Born Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. It now goes to Gov. Mike Kehoe. (Kellogg, 5/15)

It was 1993, and Victoria Snyder wanted a baby. The Hawaiʻi resident went to William McKenzie — a popular and renowned gynecologist on Oʻahu’s  North Shore — and requested to be inseminated with sperm from an anonymous Filipino donor. The following year, she gave birth to twin boys. (Valera and Thompson, 5/14)

Children exposed to prenatal antidepressants had an increased risk of autism or attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) that was not significant after adjusting for confounding factors, a systematic review and meta-analysis showed. (George, 5/14)

New research indicates administration of the antibiotic azithromycin late in pregnancy may be tied to a lower risk of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) than other antibiotics used for bacterial infections during pregnancy, researchers reported this week in JAMA Network Open. An estimated 37% of US women are exposed to antibiotics during pregnancy for bacterial infections, including respiratory and sexually transmitted infections, and roughly 3% use azithromycin, which is also used in expectant mothers to help prevent surgical-site infection after cesarean and vaginal delivery. (Dall, 5/14)

The pill helped give birth to modern America. Known by one simple word, the revolutionary oral contraceptive — approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration 66 years ago — didn’t just prevent innumerable pregnancies. It gave women new freedom, changing family life and society forever. “Its introduction in the 1960s afforded U.S. women this unprecedented control over their childbearing and subsequent life trajectories,” says Suzanne Bell of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The pill disentangled sex from procreation. Women no longer needed a man’s cooperation to control their fertility. (Ungar, 5/12)