Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. will not sell abortion pills in 20 states after warnings by Republican attorneys general of legal action, a decision that limits the medication’s availability in many places where access to the procedure is already restricted.
(Bloomberg) — Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. will not sell abortion pills in 20 states after warnings by Republican attorneys general of legal action, a decision that limits the medication’s availability in many places where access to the procedure is already restricted.
The company won’t dispense mifepristone in those states, Fraser Engerman, a company spokesman, said in an emailed statement to Bloomberg News.
“I can confirm we have responded to each of the attorneys general who signed the letter dated Feb. 1 to Walgreens,” he said. “We will not dispense mifepristone in their states.”
He was referring to a joint letter sent by a group of 20 Republican attorneys general to executives at both Walgreens and CVS Health Corp. warning that the companies could face legal consequences if they decided to mail and distribute abortion medication in their states.
Walgreen’s decision was reported earlier by Politico.
The nation’s biggest pharmacy chains announced in January that they planned to seek US certification to sell the pills used in medication abortion, after the US Food and Drug Administration loosened restrictions on where the drugs could be dispensed. Previously, they could be distributed only in health care settings.
The attorney generals letter was sent after the companies stated their intention.
Not all of the states have a total ban on abortion or expressly prohibit the distribution of pills through the mail, but many have laws restricting the pill — like requiring it to be dispensed at a doctor’s office or in person.
–With assistance from Madlin Mekelburg.
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