Walgreens has come under fire for saying it would not distribute the abortion pill in nearly two dozen red states threatening legal action, including some where medication abortion remains legal. And on Wednesday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom withdrew a $54 million contract with Walgreens.
“California will not stand by as corporations cave to extremists and cut off critical access to reproductive care and freedom,” Newsom said in a news release. “California is on track to be the fourth largest economy in the world and we will leverage our market power to defend the right to choose.”
Newsom ordered state officials to not renew a contract with Walgreens to purchase specialty pharmacy prescription drugs for California’s prison health care system, including antiviral and antifungal drugs and medication used for congestive heart failure. Walgreens has gotten about $54 million from the contract, which expires April 30.
Newsom’s office said the state will buy the drugs somewhere else.
Walgreens was “deeply disappointed by the decision by the state of California not to renew our longstanding contract due to false and misleading information,” said representative Fraser Engerman.
“Walgreens is facing the same circumstances as all retail pharmacies, and no other pharmacies have said that they would approach this situation differently, so it’s unclear where this contract would not be moved,” Engerman said. “Our position has always been that, once we are certified by the FDA, Walgreens plans to dispense Mifepristone in any jurisdiction where it is legally permissible to do so, including the state of California.”
Walgreens said last week it assured 20 attorneys general that it would not dispense the pill in their states after the group sent a letter threatening the company with legal action. Abortion is legal in many of these states, including Kansas, Alaska, Iowa and Montana.
Newsom published a tweet Monday saying, “We’re done” in reference to doing business with Walgreens in light of the news.
His office did not respond to a request for comment.
The company issued a statement Monday saying it would dispense the pill “where it is legally permissible” but did not respond to a request for comment on whether that included states with attorneys general who threatened legal action.
Abortion access groups decry Walgreens’ decision
Abortion access organizations responded with outrage over Walgreens’ initial decision not to provide mifepristone in states where the abortion pill is legal.
In a statement to USA TODAY, the national reproductive justice nonprofit If/When/How said it is “disappointed by Walgreens’ decision to cave to the intimidation tactics of extremist policy makers” and emphasized that mifepristone is a safe and effective drug that received FDA approval for use in abortions 20 years ago.
“The decisions companies make regarding health care services should be rooted in public health and safety and the needs of patients – not fear of litigation by politicians committed to controlling people’s health care decisions, bodies, and lives,” Danika Severino Wynn, vice president of abortion access at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, told USA TODAY.
Melissa Fowler, chief program officer at the National Abortion Federation, told USA TODAY that “too many patients have already lost access to essential health care,” and decisions like this will only fuel inequities in abortion access.
“When corporations give in to anti-abortion demands, patients are the ones who lose,” she said in a statement.
Attorneys general threaten legal action
Walgreen’s decision to sell mifepristone in certain markets comes after the Food and Drug Administration in January said any certified mail and brick-and-mortar pharmacy can dispense the abortion pill.
A company spokesperson at the time said Walgreen would be dispensing the drugs “consistent with federal and state laws.”
On Feb. 1, attorneys generals from 20 republican states sent a letter to Walgreens and other pharmacies that distributing the pill by mail is “unsafe and illegal,” according to a press release. The Kansas attorney general sent a similar letter the following week.
The 20 attorneys general said they disagreed with the Biden administration’s interpretation of an 1873 law to allow mifepristone to be distributed by mail.
What are other pharmacies doing?
Rite Aid is evaluating the company’s ability to dispense mifepristone and is monitoring the latest federal, state, legal and regulatory developments, according to spokesperson Catherine Carter.
CVS did not respond to a request for comment but told USA TODAY in January that it would seek certification to dispense mifepristone “where legally permissible.”
How does the abortion pill work?
Mifepristone is used to dilate the cervix and block the hormone needed to sustain a pregnancy.
While mifepristone is followed up with a second medication called misoprostol that causes the uterus to contract and expel tissue, the FDA rule only applies to the first drug.
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Associated Press contributed to this report.
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