Walgreens clarified Thursday that it is not distributing abortion pills anywhere, including in states where they remain legal.
The nation’s second-largest pharmacy explained to Politico that it made this decision out of an abundance of caution amid a shifting policy landscape post Roe. However, Walgreens does intend to seek certification from the Food and Drug Administration to distribute abortion pills in certain states, but it declined to say which.
The move follows two dozen Republican attorneys general writing to Walgreens in February warning it not to distribute what has become the most popular abortion method.
“Walgreens is not currently dispensing Mifepristone in any of its locations. 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,” wrote Walgreens executive vice president Danielle Gray to Kansas attorney general Kris Kobach in February.
The company claimed it has responded to all the attorney general letters.
“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 continued.
Abortion is still legal in Kansas, as well as states like Alaska, Iowa, and Montana. So are the abortion pills specifically.
Kansas has a law that patients can only obtain the pills directly from a physician, but that law is currently blocked in court.
The FDA certification process Walgreens cited is currently being challenged in court by Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal group. They argue that the Food and Drug Administration never had the authority to approve the use of the pills when it did so nearly a quarter century ago.
The FDA failed to properly study the safety of the two-pill regimen of mifepristone and misoprostol, and for almost two decades stonewalled the doctors who were attempting to challenge the approval of the regimen, the group claims.
The Biden administration has made access to abortion medications one of its key initiatives. Last month, Texas sued Biden for an HHS guidance that seeks to protect access to abortion pills.
Students for Life spokesperson Kristi Hamrick cheered Walgreens' decision.
"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," she told Politico.
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