Dive Brief:
- CVS and Walgreens will soon begin selling the abortion pill mifepristone in states where it is legal after receiving the regulatory green light.
- Both retail pharmacy chains confirmed with Healthcare Dive that they have been certified by the Food and Drug Administration to sell mifepristone, which patients could previously only obtain from a doctor, at medical clinics or over the mail before a FDA rule change last year.
- Walgreens said it will start dispensing the pills this week in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California and Illinois. CVS said mifepristone would be available at its pharmacies in the “weeks ahead” in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, with plans to expand to additional states on a rolling basis.
Dive Insight:
Two of the biggest pharmacy chains in the nation dispensing mifepristone could increase access to the medication, but it’s unclear how much the decision will move the needle on abortion care in the U.S.
In the states where Walgreens and CVS will begin dispensing — states where abortions are legal and allowable using medication — abortion pills are already available through a number of avenues, like in clinics or via telemedicine.
Still, President Joe Biden urged “all pharmacies that want to pursue this option” to seek certification in a Friday post on X, formerly Twitter.
The moves by Walgreens and CVS come over a year since the FDA finalized a rule change allowing more pharmacies, including major chains, to dispense abortion pills. In order to be certified, CVS and Walgreens had to beef up prescriber privacy protections in their computer systems, among other steps.
CVS and Walgreens said they planned to become certified after the FDA announced the policy change in January 2023. CVS operates more than 9,000 pharmacies in the U.S., while Walgreens runs roughly 8,700 locations.
Walgreens found itself at the center of a political firestorm last year after agreeing to not dispense abortion pills in 20 states, following pressure from Republican attorneys general. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, threatened to no longer do business with Walgreens as a result.
Walgreens later clarified it planned to dispense mifepristone in any state where it was legally allowed.
Mifepristone has been approved by regulators for more than two decades to terminate pregnancies of up to 10 weeks when used in tandem with another medication, misoprostol. Misoprostol, which is used for many different medical conditions, has been less tightly regulated by the FDA.
Access to mifepristone is a flashpoint in the evolving debate over abortions in the U.S., after the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade in 2022.
A flurry of states restricted abortions or made the procedure entirely illegal following the controversial decision, making abortion access highly dependent on where a patient lives.
Now, antiabortion advocates are trying to restrict the medications, which account for the majority of abortions in the U.S., amid reports that patients in states that have banned abortion are ordering the pills virtually.
Along with actions in conservative states to ban the medication, the Supreme Court is weighing a challenge from antiabortion groups seeking to reverse the FDA’s approval of mifepristone or cancel policies that have expanded access. Arguments in that case are scheduled to begin later this month.
