BATON ROUGE - A three-judge panel for the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Louisiana and issued a stay preventing access to the abortion pill Mifepristone by mail across the U.S.

The appeals court said that after Louisiana argued the FDA’s justifications for remotely dispensing mifepristone were based on flawed or nonexistent data, the FDA said it did not adequately study whether remotely prescribing the drug is safe. The drug will need to be dispensed in person nationwide.

"The district court agreed that Louisiana was likely to win its challenge to the Mifepristone regulation and was suffering irreparable harm from it. Nonetheless, the court declined to stay the regulation based on its balancing of the equities and the public interest," judges said in their decision. "We grant the stay."

In April, U.S. District Judge David Joseph ruled against Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, saying he would follow an FDA study on the drug before making a decision. He also told the agency to update him on the status of its investigation within six months.

A California doctor was previously indicted in Louisiana for allegedly mailing abortion drugs to the state.

"The Biden abortion cartel facilitated the deaths of thousands of Louisiana babies (and millions in other states) through illegal mail-order abortion pills," Murrill said in a statement. "Today, that nightmare is over, thanks to the hard work of my office and our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom. I look forward to continuing to defend women and babies as this case continues."