Season 14 • Episode 1058

The Legal Challenges Facing Mifepristone

Jun 1, 2026

19:53

Episode Description

About this episode:

In May, the Supreme Court issued an order preserving access to the abortion medication mifepristone by telemedicine—for now. In this episode: a breakdown of Louisiana v. FDA and other cases involving mifepristone as legal and political battles continue after the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Guest:

Joanne Rosen, JD, MA, is an expert in public health law and a co-director of the Center for Law and the Public's Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Host:

Dr. Josh Sharfstein is distinguished professor of the practice in Health Policy and Management, a pediatrician, and former secretary of Maryland's Health Department. He served as the Baltimore City Commissioner of Health from 2005 to 2009.

Show links and related content:

Louisiana v. FDA: Access to Mifepristone Back at the Supreme Court—KFF
What Is Mifepristone, aka "The Abortion Pill"?—Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
How the FDA Regulates Mifepristone, "the Abortion Pill"—Public Health On Call (February 2026)

Transcript information:

Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel.