Walgreens Plans to Get Certified to Dispense Abortion Pill

(Bloomberg) — Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. said it plans to seek certification to dispense pills that can induce an abortion after the US Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that it would allow the drugs to be distributed both by mail and at brick-and-mortar pharmacies.

(Bloomberg) — Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. said it plans to seek certification to dispense pills that can induce an abortion after the US Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that it would allow the drugs to be distributed both by mail and at brick-and-mortar pharmacies.

“We are working through the registration, necessary training of our pharmacists, as well as evaluating our pharmacy network in terms of where we normally dispense products that have extra FDA requirements and will dispense these consistent with federal and state laws,” Walgreens said Wednesday in an emailed statement.

The changes to the FDA’s drug safety program for the abortion pill, called mifepristone, follow the Supreme Court’s reversal of the Roe v. Wade decision that has put greater obstacles to abortion access in some parts of the country. If certified, Walgreens would become the first retail pharmacy chain to offer the pill after decades of strict legislation that restricted patients’ access to in-person dispensing at health-care facilities. 

Walgreens plans to report first-quarter earnings tomorrow before the market open. The company’s shares were little changed after US markets closed Wednesday. 

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