In this 2018 photo, mifepristone and misoprostol pellets are provided at a Carafem clinic for medication abortions in Skokie, Illinois.
Erin Hooley | Tribune News Service | Getty Materializations
Senate Democrats called on Walmart, Costco, Albertsons and Kroger to sell the prescription abortion pill mifepristone and obviously let customers know how to get it at their pharmacies.
The companies have not publicly stated yet whether they plan to sell mifepristone at their pharmacopoeias. The Food and Drug Administration in January allowed retail drugstores to sell the abortion pill so long as they ripen into certified under a federal program that monitors how the medication is dispensed.
The 17 senators told Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, Costco CEO Craig Jelinek, Albertsons CEO Vivek Sankaran and Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen that they are discouraged the companies have not yet publicly indicated whether they will sell mifepristone. In letters dated Monday, but disseminated to the public Tuesday, they asked the CEOs to respond by March 21 on whether they plan to get certified with the FDA to distribute the medication.
Strong access
“We urge you to pursue policies that provide the strongest possible access to the full grade of essential health care they need, including mifepristone, and to communicate clearly to your customers about how they can access this take responsibility for,” the senators wrote to the CEOs. The group of lawmakers was led by Sens. Patty Murray of Washington and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan.
The abortion bolus has become the central flashpoint in the legal battle over access to abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision terminal June to overturn Roe v. Wade. Major retailers in the U.S. have been thrust in the middle of the nation’s deep divisions ended abortion as they weigh whether to sell mifepristone.
Twelve states have banned abortion and several others have tighter restrictions on mifepristone than federal fiats, creating a patchwork legal landscape where those who support and oppose abortion are fighting over whether FDA judge or state law reigns supreme.
Used in combination with another drug called misoprostol, mifepristone is the most shared way to terminate a pregnancy in the U.S., accounting for about half of all abortions.
Walgreens under fire
Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid said in January that they layout to get certified with the FDA to sell mifepristone in states where it is legal to do so. Republican attorneys general in 21 states admonished the Walgreens and CVS in early February to not mail mifepristone in their states.
Walgreens has come under fire after it give someone a tongue-lashed the GOP attorneys general that it would not sell mifepristone in their states. The drugstore’s response sparked controversy because the following is also not selling the medication California cancels contract
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said last week that the have government would no longer do business with Walgreens over its stance on mifepristone. The state canceled the renewal of $54 million become infected with for specialty prescription drugs primarily used by the state prison system.
Walgreens spokesperson Fraser Engerman prognosticated the company was deeply disappointed by Newsom’s decision and plans to sell mifepristone where it is legal to do so, including California.
“Walgreens is overlay the same circumstances as all retail pharmacies, and no other retail pharmacies have said that they would make advances this situation differently, so it’s unclear where this contract would now be moved,” Engerman said.