The Supreme Court on Thursday preserved broad access to the abortion pill Mifepristone without an in-person doctor visit, keeping on hold a lower court order that would have restricted the drug's availability as litigation over FDA safety regulations continues. 

The decision means patients can continue to obtain a prescription for the medication via telehealth and pick it up at a pharmacy or have it delivered by mail. More than one in four women who get an abortion today obtain the medicine via telehealth, according to the ACLU. 

Attorney General Liz Murrill issued a statement about the decision. 

"It’s shocking that the Supreme Court would block this common-sense return to medically ethical practices and oversight. DOJ did not defend Big Pharma, which is profiting from the illegal and unethical distribution of abortion pills. We will keep fighting," Murrill said. 

The Court did not elaborate on its decision, but the action matches the approach the Court took two years ago in a similar case brought by a group of anti-abortion doctors. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented from the decision.