A Walgreens store in San Francisco, California, U.S. on Tuesday, March 7, 2023.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
California is not going to renew a $54 million contract with Walgreens in reference to the choice of the pharmacy chain to stop selling the abortion pill in some states on account of legal restrictions.
“California is not going to stand by as corporations succumb to extremists and cut off critical access to reproductive care and freedom” Governor Gavin Newsom said in a press release Wednesday. “California is heading in the right direction to grow to be the fourth largest economy on the planet, and we’ll use our market power to defend the fitting to decide on.”
Newsom said on Monday that the state was “done” with the Walgreens business. California used a contract to buy specialty pharmaceuticals for the prison system. The state is reviewing all of its business deals with Walgreens.
Walgreens has said it should sell the abortion pill, mifepristone, in every state where it’s “legally allowed.” Republican attorney generals in 21 states warned Walgreens in February that selling or distributing an abortion pill of their states would violate local laws.
The pharmacy chain told them it might not sell or ship mifepristone of their states.
The Food and Drug Administration in January allowed retail pharmacies corresponding to Walgreens to sell mifepristone so long as they’re certified under the agency’s program that monitors how the pill is used and distributed. Walgreens and CVS said they plan to grow to be certified under this program.
No less than 12 states have banned abortion for the reason that Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last yr. Few other states have stricter restrictions on mifepristone than the FDA.
Walgreens also doesn’t sell abortion pills in states corresponding to Alaska, Kansas and Montana where abortion is protected without any consideration under state constitutions. The pharmacy will even not sell mifepristone in Iowa, where the state’s Supreme Court overturned constitutional protections for abortion last yr.
Alaska requires patients to receive their pills from a health care provider. In Kansas, the state required patients to select up an abortion pill in person from a health care provider, but a state court blocked the law in November. Montana’s requirement that patients see a health care provider for mifepristone can be temporarily blocked by the court.
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