Pharmacy Retailers Walgreens and CVS to Offer Abortion Pill Mifepristone in Stores Across US

Walgreens and CVS to Provide Abortion Pill at US Stores as Supreme Court Case Looms

The Move Expected to Increase Access to Abortion Care Across the US

Major pharmacy retailers Walgreens and CVS are set to expand access to abortion care by offering the abortion pill, known as mifepristone, in their stores across the US. This comes as the US Supreme Court prepares to hear a case that could potentially restrict reproductive healthcare for millions of Americans. By making the pill available in stores, the pharmacy chains can significantly enhance accessibility to medication abortion, a procedure that accounts for over half of all abortions in the US.

Mifepristone, approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2000, is a prescription-only drug and is one of the two drugs used in medication abortion. By blocking a hormone essential for pregnancy, mifepristone is followed by a second pill called Misoprostol, which induces contractions to expel the tissue. This two-drug protocol is also used in the treatment of miscarriages.

The rollout of mifepristone’s availability in two of the largest pharmacy chains comes just weeks before the Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments in a case filed by right-wing legal groups and anti-abortion activists. These groups seek to revoke the FDA’s approval of mifepristone as part of their long-standing campaign to ban abortion nationwide. This case is being presented less than two years after the Supreme Court’s ruling on Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned the constitutional right to abortion care established in Roe v Wade almost half a century ago.

Please note that mifepristone prescriptions at CVS and Walgreens will only be available in states where abortion is legal due to the patchwork nature of anti-abortion laws across the country.

President Joe Biden expressed support for the move, stating that many women will now have the option to pick up their prescription at a nearby certified pharmacy, just like they would for any other medication. The President, alongside Vice President Kamala Harris, is committed to defending the FDA and their evidence-based drug approval process. Additionally, President Biden has pledged to restore the protections affirmed in Roe v Wade into federal law, pending congressional action.

Medication abortion is responsible for approximately 54% of all abortions, according to the Guttmacher Institute. The majority of these procedures occur within the first nine weeks of pregnancy. In 2019, nearly 93% of all abortions were performed before the 13th week, as reported by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The lawsuit filed by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a right-wing legal group that previously challenged Roe v Wade, called for the FDA’s approval of mifepristone to be revoked. US District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who was appointed by Donald Trump, issued a ruling to suspend mifepristone’s FDA approval. The conservative Fifth Circuit Appeals Court in Louisiana mostly upheld the ruling, leading to the Supreme Court agreeing to hear the case on 26 March.

A major medical journal has retracted two papers, published in 2021 and 2022 respectively, that were cited by the plaintiffs supporting the case. This retraction has cast doubt on the medical basis of their position. However, anti-abortion groups, Republican officials from 25 states, and over 140 members of Congress have joined briefs urging the Supreme Court to block the availability of mifepristone.

Attorneys for the Alliance Defending Freedom have argued that anti-abortion doctors would violate their religious beliefs if they were required to provide care to patients experiencing complications from medication abortions. A ruling that undermines the FDA’s drug approval process could have far-reaching consequences, potentially leading to legal battles over other drugs such as Covid-19 vaccines, contraception, HIV medication, gender-affirming care, and other life-saving drugs.

GenBioPro, the nation’s only generic manufacturer of mifepristone, hailed the decision from pharmacy retailers as a major step towards ensuring that all people, regardless of their income, gender, race, or geographical location, have access to evidence-based healthcare and safe and effective medicines, including medication abortion.

While expanding access to mifepristone is a positive development, it is important to note that this decision will not impact hundreds of thousands of pregnant individuals living in states where abortion is banned and mifepristone is illegal. Furthermore, even in states with strong abortion rights laws, individuals still struggle to access abortion care due to various factors such as stigma, misinformation, a lack of providers, and high costs.