The US Supreme Court on Wednesday temporarily preserved access to a widely-used abortion pill, putting on hold lower court decisions placing restrictions on the drug.
Without commenting on the merits of the case, the nation's highest court extended an administrative stay freezing the lower court rulings until midnight Friday (0400 GMT Saturday).
The court had previously issued a stay on the rulings that had been set to expire at midnight Wednesday (0400 GMT Thursday).
The stay came after the Justice Department filed an emergency appeal asking the Supreme Court to block the lower court rulings that would have banned or limited use of mifepristone, which accounts for more than half of the abortions in the United States.
The extension of the stay gives the court more time to decide what to do with the divisive case, the most significant on reproductive rights since it tossed out the constitutional right to abortion last year.
Published 19 April 2023, 21:56 IST