Cleveland Councilwoman Stephanie Howse Jones joins as a signatory on an amicus brief asking US Supreme Court to vacate appeals court ruling to ban abortion pill Mifepristone by mail...By Clevelandurbannews.com, Ohio's Black digital news leader

Cleveland Ward 8 Councilwoman Stephanie Howse-Jones
Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio—Cleveland Ward 8 Councilwoman Stephanie Howse-Jones, a Black Democrat, has joined more than 109 other signatories to Public Rights Project's amicus brief in Louisiana v. FDA to the United States Supreme Court to stay or vacate the ruling of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that effectively bans access to the abortion drug Mifepristone by mail-order nationwide. The high court has stayed the ruling for now. 

"We have to stop the Louisiana v. FDA ruling because people deserve the freedom to make their own healthcare decisions, not government representatives or politicians," said Councilwoman Howse-Jones, also a former Ohio state representative. "The 5th Circuit's ruling would take us backwards, block safe and proven care, and ignore the Constitutional rights of Ohioans. I'm not going to stand by while Louisiana attempts to deny us those rights and endanger our health without our consent."

If allowed to go into effect, the 5th Circuit's ruling would cut off telemedicine access to Mifepristone for patients nationwide, including those in states like Ohio, where abortion is constitutionally protected. According to the Ohio Department of Health, Mifepristone was used in 59% of Ohio abortions in 2025.

The Louisiana-based 5th Circuit issued its ruling on May 1, 2026. Pharmaceutical companies Danco and GenBioPro asked the Supreme Court to immediately take up the issue and hear arguments before its summer recess. On May 4, 2026, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito ordered a one-week hold on the implementation of the ban to allow the Justices to consider taking up the case and ordered the State of Louisiana to respond to the companies' emergency appeals by May 7. Public Rights Project filed its amicus brief in support of Danco and GenBioPro's applications.

The signatories to Public Rights Project's amicus brief represent 89 local jurisdictions across 24 states. The cities of Columbus and Cincinnati are amici curiae in this case. Councilwoman Howse-Jones and Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval are the local-government-leader signatories from Ohio.

In 2023, Ohio voters enshrined the legal right to abortion access in the Ohio Constitution.

"Three years ago, Ohio voters stood up and defended their reproductive freedom. Ohioans should expect their elected officials to show the same kind of leadership and keep others from rewriting the rules for us," Howse-Jones said. "I'm fighting to make sure Ohio's voice, and Cleveland's voters, are respected, not overruled."

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com are the most-read Black digital newspaper and blog in Ohio and the Midwest. Tel. 216-659-0473. Email-editor@clevelandurbannews.com.