Last Thursday, the Walgreens pharmacy chain store announced they will not dispense the abortion pill, Mifepristone, in 21 states where GOP officials are threatening legal action should the drug store decide otherwise.
According to multiple reports, the Walgreens company has confirmed it will not dispense abortion pills either by mail or at its brick-and-mortar locations in these states.
Before Mifepristone could even make it onto the Walgreen shelves, the company has also agreed to refrain from selling the pills in some states where general abortions remain legal – including Alaska, Iowa, Kansas and Montana. For more than 20 years, only specific offices and clinics were legally authorized to distribute Mifepristone.
However, some laws are specific – take Kansas, for example. Their abortion laws state that patients are only authorized to receive abortion pills from their physician.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), alongside the Biden administration, finalized a rule in January allowing retail pharmacies to get certified to distribute the drug, and companies including Walgreens and CVS Pharmacy announced their plans to apply.
However, this directly coincides with abortion laws varying in each state.
Attorney generals from multiple states have also sent out letters to chain stores aiming to apply for certification – including Albertsons, Costco, Kroger, Rite Aid and Walmart.
In a recent tweet announced, Gov. Gavin Newsom couldn’t help himself, stating that California will no longer be doing business with Walgreens.
In a recent tweet from the governor:
California won't be doing business with @walgreens — or any company that cowers to the extremists and puts women's lives at risk.
We're done.https://t.co/OB10cYfm8H
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) March 6, 2023
What’s amusing about Newsom’s statement is that if Mifepristone is indeed approved to be sold in states where general abortions are legal, California would not be affected at all.
Being that Walgreens and CVS Pharmacy stores are being looted every other day in California, this decision from the governor may end up saving the drug store more money than what it is spending on repairs and stolen inventory.
If actually executed, that seems like a WIN to me.
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