CVS and Walgreen said last Friday that they have received certification from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to being dispensing the abortion pill mifepristone later this month.
The drug chains say that they will begin making it available in stores in just a handful states. Neither CVS nor Walgreen will make mifepristone available via mail.
The New York Times reports that “both chains said they would gradually expand to all other states where abortion was legal and where pharmacies were legally able to dispense abortion pills — about half of the states.”
The Times goes on:
“Walgreens will start providing the pill within the next week in a small number of its pharmacies in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California and Illinois, said Fraser Engerman, a spokesman for the chain. ‘We are beginning a phased rollout in select locations to allow us to ensure quality, safety and privacy for our patients, providers and team members,’ he said.
“CVS will begin dispensing in all of its pharmacies in Massachusetts and Rhode Island ‘in the weeks ahead,’ Amy Thibault, a spokeswoman for the company, said.
“The chains will be monitoring the prospects in a few states, including Kansas, Montana and Wyoming, where abortion bans or strict limitations have been enacted but are enjoined because of legal challenges.
“Mr. Engerman said that Walgreens was ‘not going to dispense in states where the laws are unclear’ to protect its pharmacists and staff members.
“As for CVS, ‘we continually monitor and evaluate changes in state laws and will dispense mifepristone in any state where it is or becomes legally permissible to do so,’ Ms. Thibault said. In some states where abortion is legal, she said, pharmacists are prohibited from dispensing mifepristone because laws require that to be done by doctors or in a hospital or clinic.
“It is uncertain how much initial demand there will be for the service at brick-and-mortar pharmacies. In the states where the chains will begin dispensing, abortion pills are already available in clinics or easily prescribed through telemedicine and sent through the mail. But some women prefer to visit doctors, many of whom do not have the medication on hand. The new development will allow doctors and other eligible providers to send a prescription to a pharmacy for the patient to pick up.”
KC’s View:
Unfortunately, it seems likely that in the current climate there will be circumstances in which the chains and their personnel are targeted by some elements, no matter how careful they are about limiting distribution to certain states.
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