A federal judge has paused the Florida and Texas lawsuit aimed at restricting access to mifepristone while the FDA completes its safety review.

The pause extends to December 1 or ends sooner if the FDA finishes its safety review, as both sides agreed to the hold.

The lawsuit challenges the FDA’s 2000 approval of mifepristone and later access-expanding regulations, including the 2023 rule permitting mail dispensing.

The FDA began a safety review of mifepristone last year, a process that has reportedly been delayed until after the upcoming midterm elections, even as the drug accounts for a majority of abortions in the U.S.

Intervenors in the case include Texas, Florida, GenBioPro, and Danco Laboratories; plaintiffs raise safety concerns and seek regulatory relief, while major medical groups and the FDA say the drug is safe when used as directed.

The federal suit arises amid a wider trend in which nearly half of U.S. states have restricted abortion access since the 2022 ruling, increasing reliance on medication abortion and spurring legal challenges.

Medication abortion typically uses a two-drug regimen—mifepristone followed by misoprostol—to terminate pregnancies within the first 10 weeks.