Walgreens confirmed Thursday that it will not sell abortion pills in states where attorneys general oppose their distribution, even in states where the abortion method remains legal.
The drug giant announced the decision after Republican attorneys general in 20 states sent a letter to the company threatening legal action if it tried to ship abortion drugs into their jurisdictions. Although Walgreens does not yet sell the abortion pill in any states, it is in the process of obtaining certification to do so.
Politico was the first to report the decision.
“This is a very complex and evolving area of the law, and we are taking it into consideration as we seek certification to dispense mifepristone,” Fraser Engerman, director of external affairs at Walgreens, said in a statement, adding that the company confirmed with each attorney general in the letter that they will not issue the pills in their states through the mail or at Walgreens locations.
Mifepristone is the first of two pills that a patient must take to terminate a pregnancy up to 10 weeks. It is the most common way to terminate a pregnancy in the United States and is considered a “safe and effective method” of abortion by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Walgreens’ decision means patients in Alaska, Iowa, Kansas and Montana — states where it’s legal to get the abortion pill through the mail or at a pharmacy — won’t be able to do so at Walgreens because their state’s attorney general oppose. . . Walgreens, America’s second largest drugstore chain, operates more than 160 locations in these four states.
Those attorneys general argue that federal law prohibits dispensing abortion pills by mail — a common way for pharmacies to deliver prescriptions to customers — and that President Joe Biden’s administration illegally gave pharmacies permission to do so.
CVS, the largest US drugstore chain, is also seeking permission to distribute the drug and has received letters from all 20 attorneys general. It is not yet clear how the company plans to proceed.
Walgreens’ decision sparked an immediate backlash, with #BoycottWalgreens trending on social media Thursday night.
Lawmakers from Illinois, where the drugstore chain is based, were among those who spoke.
“Women across the nation will be denied access to the health care they are legally entitled to because of this appalling corporate decision,” Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) he posted on Twitteradding that the company needs to “rethink this policy.”
“Absolutely awful,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) he posted on Twitter. “This deliberate corporate choice will prevent so many women from choosing the health care they need and are legally entitled to.”
Meanwhile, anti-abortion activists are behind a lawsuit seeking to ban mifepristone. Their case, which is currently before a federal judge appointed by former President Donald Trump, does not seek to ban misoprostol, the regime’s second drug. Although patients can self-administer an abortion with misoprostol alone, it is slightly less effective and can be more painful, doctors warn.
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