GEOFF BENNETT: The Biden administration is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene and guarantee expanded access to the abortion medication mifepristone.

This comes after a federal appeals court ruled overnight in favor of continuing access to mifepristone for now, so long as a woman sees a doctor in person.

But the appellate court also limited its distribution, saying it could no longer be delivered through the mail.

And it can only be used through the seventh week of pregnancy.

The battle over abortion is also playing out intensely at the state level.

Today, the Florida legislature approved banning abortions there after just six weeks before some women realize they're pregnant.

Governor Ron DeSantis has said he will sign it.

There are some exceptions, including for rape and incest.

But it'll make Florida one of the most restrictive states in the country.

For more on what all of this means for providers and patients, we're joined by Dr. Jamila Perritt, president and CEO of Physicians for Reproductive Health.

Thanks so much for being with us.

And, Dr. Perritt, setting aside the question of availability of mifepristone, what's the impact of these obstacles to access?

DR. JAMILA PERRITT, President and CEO, Physicians for Reproductive Health: The direct impact is elimination of access wholesale.

What we're seeing now is justice by geography.

Folks who live in states and communities that have abortion providers, that have fewer restrictions get one type of medical care, reproductive health care, and folks that live in other places, like Florida, for example, that just passed their six-week ban, get another type of care.

There is not equity built into the system.

And it's designed to be fragmented and to make it very difficult for people to access abortion care, period.

GEOFF BENNETT: Well, just this evening, we learned that the Washington state district judge doubled down on his Friday ruling, saying that the FDA can't roll back access to abortion pills in the 17 states and the District of Columbia that sued.

The pace of these rulings, the conflicting nature of them, it's confusing.

How are you and your colleagues advising women who may find themselves in need or a moment of crisis?

DR. JAMILA PERRITT: The unfortunate outcome here is that it is requiring health care providers, physicians, nurses, midwives like me to, instead of caring for our community, the work that we have been morally called to do, we're spending an inordinate amount of time talking to lawyers and policy folks, because we have an entire group of people who have no medical training, no medical background, no education in scientific research or even understanding the literature attempting to legislate care, legislate medicine.

GEOFF BENNETT: Right now, more than half of all abortions in the U.S., as you well know, are medication abortions.

Tell me more about how providers across the country, the -- your colleagues, folks who you represent in your capacity as president of your organization, how they're preparing for the possibility of providing care without access to mifepristone, which is one of the two pills commonly used for medication abortions.

DR. JAMILA PERRITT: We have more than 500 doctors in our network who are on the ground providing care in their communities day in and day out.

And this has caused a huge amount of confusion.

And it is a terrible burden, both for patients and for providers.

Certainly, we are attempting to be flexible and to be iterative, to follow the medicine and the science and to take good care of people.

But it's not easy.

It's sapping resources in an already under resourced medical system.

We are still coming out of the ashes from the COVID-19 pandemic.

And you have health care providers that are scrambling to be able to care for themselves and other people.

And this is making it much, much more difficult and will continue to be harmful for our communities for generations to come, should it stand.

GEOFF BENNETT: Dr. Perritt, how are providers in states that have abortion bans, how are they caring for patients who might have high-risk pregnancies, who might have suffered miscarriages?

How are they doing that while also worrying about their own potential legal exposure?

DR. JAMILA PERRITT: I'm so glad that you asked that, because what this is really done is pitted patients against providers.

When you go to see your doctor, what you want is someone who is going to prioritize your health and well-being.

And what we're being asked to do now because of these rulings is to center ourselves, to think about what's best for me as a doctor in this moment, and not what's best for the patient in front of me.

And that is no way to practice medicine.

It's no way to provide care to folks that you are charged, that we are charged with caring for and for whom we deeply care about in our communities.

And so it's tough, because I think a lot of people believed that, as long as it was just about abortion, then it wasn't an issue.

But you rightly point out that it impacts all areas of reproductive health, including pregnancy care for those with high-risk pregnancies, management of pregnancy loss, induction of labor.

This is going to have far-reaching consequences way beyond what folks think about when they hear the word abortion.

GEOFF BENNETT: Dr. Jamila Perritt is president and CEO of Physicians for Reproductive Health.

Thanks so much for being with us.

DR. JAMILA PERRITT: Thank you.