(ReclaimingAmerica.net) – America’s second-biggest retail pharmacy chain, Walgreens, has decided not to distribute abortion pills nationwide, earning praise from Students for Life, a prominent pro-life group.
In a statement to Politico, the management of Walgreens said it would not be selling abortion pills not only in states with abortion bans but even in states where the medication is legal.
It said the decision to end the abortion pills distribution altogether was made “out of an abundance of caution” in a “shifting policy landscape” after the June 2022 ruling of the US Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
The Dobbs ruling overturned the 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade that had made pregnancy termination legal nationwide and once again allowed individual states to ban abortion.
Despite its new decision, Walgreen still plans to ask the Food and Drug Administration for certification to distribute abortion pills in certain states, The National Review reported.
The retail pharmacy chain, however, refused to disclose the states in question.
Walgreens’ decision to stop selling the abortion pills, Mifepristone, and misoprostol, came after, in February, it received a letter from two dozen Republican state attorneys general. They warned against distributing the medications, which have become the most popular method of abortion in the US.
The pharmacy company claimed it responded to all GOP state attorneys’ letters.
“Walgreens is not currently dispensing Mifepristone in any of its locations,” wrote Walgreens executive vice president Danielle Gray to Kansas attorney general Kris Kobach in February.
“As you know, to become certified by the FDA, participating pharmacies must satisfy a range of safety and risk mitigation requirements to dispense this drug,” he added.
“Walgreens does not intend to dispense Mifepristone within your state and does not intend to ship Mifepristone into your state from any of our pharmacies. If this approach changes, we will be sure to notify you,” Gray elaborated.
In Kansas and other Republican-run states such as Alaska, Iowa, and Montana, abortion is still legal, and so are abortion pills.
The report points out that Kansas has a law stipulating patients can only get abortion pills from a physician – but a court has blocked it.
It also notes that Walgreens’ FDA certification process is currently being challenged in court by Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal group. The Alliance insists that the FDA didn’t have the authority to approve abortion pills in the first place – which it did almost a quarter century ago.
The National Review also emphasizes that the administration of President Joe Biden has declared nationwide abortion pill access one of its landmark initiatives.
Last month, the state of Texas filed a lawsuit against the federal government over a Health Department guidance defending access to abortion medications.
Walgreens’ decision to stop selling abortion pills in all 50 states and DC was cheered by Students for Life spokesperson Kristi Hamrick.
“This response indicates that pro-life concerns are being heard and that corporations are not rushing to take over the abortion business but are proceeding cautiously,” Hamrick declared.
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