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CVS and Walgreens to Offer Abortion Pill Mifepristone in Some States
"I encourage all pharmacies that want to pursue this option to seek certification," said President Joe Biden.
Mar 01, 2024
CVS and Walgreens will soon start offering the abortion pill mifepristone in certain states, including New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California, and Illinois.
It's not yet clear how many pharmacies in those states will sell the drug. Walgreens is considering expanding this offering to Kansas, Montana, and Wyoming.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced a rule change in January of last year that made it so retail pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens would be permitted to sell the abortion pill. Retail pharmacies that would like to be able to sell mifepristone have to certify that they know how to treat abortion patients and require that patients fill out a consent form before obtaining the drug.
🥳 Huge W for abortion access 🎉
CVS and Walgreens can now offer #mifepristone - one of the pills used in medication abortion - in states where abortion is legal!
This is ✨great news✨, but let's be clear - everyone deserves access to abortion care, no matter where they live. https://t.co/aieNA4PAO5
— Planned Parenthood (@PPFA) March 1, 2024
"With major retail pharmacy chains newly certified to dispense medication abortion, many women will soon have the option to pick up their prescription at a local, certified pharmacy—just as they would for any other medication. I encourage all pharmacies that want to pursue this option to seek certification," President Joe Biden said in a statement.
Mifepristone is the subject of an upcoming Supreme Court case that could see access to the drug limited. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a former anti-abortion activist, issued a nationwide ban on the sale of mifepristone in April of last year in response to a lawsuit in his district that was brought by right-wing activists.
Kacsmaryk argued the FDA was wrong to approve the drug in 2000—which is very safe and has been used for decades. The Supreme Court put a hold on the ban in late April and then agreed to take the case in December.
It remains to be seen what the Supreme Court will do, but it could very well affect retail pharmacies' ability to sell mifepristone. Considering this is the court that overturned Roe, pro-choice voters are very worried about what the outcome might be. A ruling is expected in late June.
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Dem Governors, US Senators Call On Top Pharmacies to Clarify Medication Abortion Plans
"As companies that dispense critical, lifesaving medications, we urge that your decisions continue to be guided by well-established science and medical evidence and a commitment to the health and well-being of patients—not politics or litigation threats," wrote 14 governors.
Mar 14, 2023
With Walgreens under fire for its new abortion pill policy, 14 Democratic U.S. governors on Tuesday asked the corporate leaders of seven other major pharmacies to clarify their plans to lawfully distribute abortion medication like mifepristone.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in January announced a regulatory change to allow retail pharmacies to dispense mifepristone, one of two medications commonly taken in tandem to induce abortion. The move came after the U.S. Supreme Court last summer reversed Roe v. Wade with its 6-3 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.
In the wake of the high court decision, patients have had to contend with trigger laws, new efforts to enact abortion bans, and other attempts by right-wing political leaders to cut off access to healthcare, including 20 GOP state attorneys general who last month threatened legal action against Walgreens and CVS if they dispense abortion medication by mail.
While shortly after the FDA announcement both pharmacy giants confirmed they planned to seek certification to distribute mifepristone, Walgreens later clarified it won't offer the drug in states where Republican AGs have threatened legal action—prompting California Gov. Gavin Newsom last week to not renew his state's $54 million contract with Walgreens.
Newsom is spearheading the Reproductive Freedom Alliance and on Tuesday joined the Democratic governors of Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin in sending letters to the leaders of Costco, CVS, Health Mart, Kroger, Rite Aid, Safeway, and Walmart.
As the governors wrote:
We are deeply committed to protecting and expanding reproductive freedom and the health and well-being of all of our residents. As governors of 14 states, we not only represent over 141 million residents with a combined economy of over $11 trillion, but we are also direct customers who have partnered with many of your companies for years on a variety of issues and initiatives. We understand you are carefully reviewing the new mifepristone certification process. We look forward to receiving your plans for dispensing mifepristone in states where such care is legal, as well as any other actions you plan to take to safeguard access to reproductive healthcare.
"As companies that dispense critical, lifesaving medications, we urge that your decisions continue to be guided by well-established science and medical evidence and a commitment to the health and well-being of patients—not politics or litigation threats," the governors added.
Meanwhile, Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash. ) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) revealed a series of letters—backed by several Senate Democrats—sent to various pharmacy leaders in recent days. They wrote to Walgreens' chief executive officer "with grave concerns about the misunderstanding and confusion your company has created with regard to patients' access to mifepristone from retail pharmacies."
Walgreens' response to Republican attorney generals' pressure "was unacceptable and appeared to yield to these threats—ignoring the critical need to ensure patients can get this essential healthcare wherever possible," the senators continued. "As you work through the FDA certification process, we urge you to fully assess the laws in each state and ensure your policies provide the strongest possible legal access to this critical patient care."
Stabenow told NBC News, which first reported on the senators' letters Tuesday, that "in no way, shape, or form should businesses deny legal healthcare to women who have the right to access this vital medication. All businesses should follow the FDA certification process and fully comply with applicable state and federal law."
The Senate Democrats wrote to the CEOs of Albertsons, Costco, Kroger, and Walmart "with great frustration" that none of them has publicly indicated whether they plan to allow customers to access mifepristone through their pharmacies across the country.
After expressing concern that GOP intimidation tactics could "lead companies like yours to continue to sit on the sidelines and undermine critical care for your customers," the senators urged those four chains "to pursue policies that provide the strongest possible access to the full range of essential healthcare they need, including mifepristone, and to communicate clearly to your customers about how they can access this care."
"We look forward to hearing back from you by March 21, 2023 about your intentions to ensure access to this critical FDA-approved product," the lawmakers added.
In letters to CVS and Rite Aid leadership, the Senate Democrats expressed appreciation for both chains' ongoing efforts to become distributors of mifepristone while also stressing that "at a time of great confusion about abortion access, it is imperative that no company adds to it."
The senators asked both companies' leaders to respond to three questions by March 21:
- If certified, how do you plan to notify current customers about access to mifepristone in any given state, where restrictions do and do not exist?
- If a new state law to restrict access to medication abortion is proposed, at what stage will you clarify to your customers whether they still have access to mifepristone?
- Will your company conduct any community outreach to ensure customers are aware of the full range of legal health services available to them?
"Medication abortion is how most women across our country get abortion care," Murray told NBC, "and it's absolutely critical patients can access this safe, FDA-approved drug without being forced to jump through medically unnecessary hoops or drain their bank accounts to travel hundreds of miles."
The questions and concerns about accessing mifepristone at retail pharmacies come as patients and providers nationwide prepare for a secretive Wednesday hearing before right-wing U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk regarding an anti-choice group's effort to limit abortion access by arguing that the FDA never should have approved the drug over two decades ago.
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Call to 'Boycott Walgreens' Erupts After Company Caves to Right-Wing on Abortion Pills
"This willful corporate choice will prevent so many women from choosing the healthcare they need and have a legal right to," said Sen. Tammy Duckworth.
Mar 03, 2023
Calls to "boycott Walgreens" grew on social media after the United States' second-largest pharmacy chain confirmed Thursday that it will not sell abortion pills in nearly two dozen GOP-controlled states, including several where such medication remains legal.
Walgreens' decision came after 20 Republican state attorneys generals in February threatened the company with legal action if it began distributing mifepristone by mail.
The AGs wrote that federal law and many state laws prohibit "using the mail to send or receive any drug that will 'be used or applied for producing abortion,'" adding that "the text, not the Biden administration's view, is what governs."
After a yearslong study by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found that mifepristone is safe and effective to use without a doctor's visit, the agency in January updated a rule allowing retail pharmacies to sell the drug—part of the Biden administration's attempt to protect abortion access in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's June 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade, which unleashed a right-wing assault on reproductive freedom that experts say violates international human rights law.
As Politico first reported Thursday, Walgreens recently informed the AGs that it will not dispense mifepristone either by mail or at its physical stores in the 20 states where those officials are the top law enforcement officers.
Abortion in general, and medication abortion in particular, are still legal in some of the affected states, including Alaska, Iowa, and Montana.
Ashley Fairbanks wrote that "the only way to end corporate compliance with fascism is to impact their profits."
"Looks like it's time to boycott Walgreens," tweeted Corinne Blalock of Yale Law School. "I really can't get over how disgusted I am by... private corporations unilaterally denying millions of women's access to reproductive healthcare."
Calling Walgreens' move "absolutely awful," Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) warned that "this willful corporate choice will prevent so many women from choosing the healthcare they need and have a legal right to," and implored the company to "reverse course—immediately."
The FDA approved the use of mifepristone, taken in conjunction with misoprostol, for abortion within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy in 2000. Medication abortion became the most common method in the U.S. for terminating a pregnancy in 2020.
Walgreens' decision, meanwhile, underscores the extent to which abortion access varies in the post-Roe U.S., including in states where the GOP has not outlawed the healthcare procedure.
According toThe Associated Press:
Nineteen U.S. states have imposed restrictions on abortion pills, but there's a court battle over whether they have the power to do so in defiance of U.S. Food and Drug Administration policy. A physician and a company that makes the pill mifepristone filed separate lawsuits earlier this year seeking to strike down bans in North Carolina and West Virginia.
The FDA for more than 20 years limited dispensing of the drug to a subset of specialty offices and clinics because of safety concerns. But it eased restrictions since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic by eliminating the in-person requirement for the pill and allowing brick-and-mortar pharmacies to dispense it. At least one lawsuit filed by abortion opponents argues that the FDA has overstepped its authority in approving the abortion drugs.
A Walgreens spokesperson said Thursday that the company is not yet selling abortion pills anywhere in the country but is working to become eligible through the FDA's certification process, after which it "will dispense only in those jurisdictions where it is legal to do so."
E. Michael Murphy, the adviser for state government affairs for the American Pharmacists Association, told Politico that members of the group are struggling to navigate "blatant contradictions between state and federal law that make it very challenging to identify what is legal and what is not legal."
"We are very concerned with those reports," he said, "because we as pharmacists want to ensure the patients have access to the best possible care that's informed by evidence."
As Bloomberg reported:
The nation's biggest pharmacy chains announced in January that they planned to seek U.S. certification to sell the pills used in medication abortion, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration loosened restrictions on where the drugs could be dispensed.
The attorney generals' February 1 letter was sent after the companies stated their intention. A rival missive was sent to executives at Walgreens and CVS by 23 Democratic state attorneys general two weeks later, urging them to ignore the legal threats from the GOP states.
According to Politico, "The group of Republican attorneys general, who argue that the Biden administration is misinterpreting the laws around mailing and dispensing abortion pills, also wrote to CVS, Albertsons, Rite Aid, Costco, Walmart, and Kroger demanding they, too, refuse to dispense the medication."
While "some independent and online pharmacies say they will seek certification to provide the drugs in these states, advocates warn that the impact of Walgreens' decision could significantly limit access," Politico noted.
Elizabeth Nash, a state policy expert at the Guttmacher Institute, told the outlet that forced pregnancy advocates and the pharmacy chain are "denying people agency over their lives."
"When we're thinking about states that have a lot of their population in rural areas, it's much more likely that a pharmacy is nearby than a provider's office," said Nash, "so these pharmacies play an outsized role in patient health and access to healthcare."
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