We’re living through a moment of near-unprecedented attacks on reproductive freedom, with the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June predictably giving way to legal attacks on the forms of abortion that are still legal. Medication abortions, which account for more than half of abortions in the U.S., are particularly embattled right now, with a Trump-appointed judge in Texas set to rule on the continued distribution of mifepristone (one of two drugs used to induce a medication abortion) across the country.
Walgreens, the second-largest pharmacy chain in the U.S., has recently found its way to the center of the controversy around medication abortion and access to mifepristone, with some calling for a boycott of the chain. For all the details on how this came to pass, read below.
Where are the calls to boycott Walgreens coming from?
Last week, Walgreens confirmed that it would no longer dispense mifepristone in 20 states (including ones where abortion is still legal).
Who’s behind Walgreens’ decision to stop providing mifepristone in 20 states?
Unsurprisingly enough, the GOP can be credited as the architects behind this move, with nearly two dozen Republican state attorneys writing to Walgreens in February to threaten legal action if the chain began to dispense mifepristone. Walgreens then confirmed to POLITICO that would not dispense or ship mifepristone in the states where the attorneys had registered their complaints.
Which states are affected by Walgreens’ refusal to provide mifepristone?
Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia are on the list of states in which pregnant people seeking abortions will no longer be able to turn to Walgreens to access mifepristone. (It should be noted that in Alaska, Florida, Iowa, and Montana, abortion is still legal up until the ten-week mark, at which point an abortion can still be accessed through medication.)
What kind of resistance to Walgreens’ decision has been seen so far?
California governor Gavin Newsom announced on Tuesday that his state would stop doing business with Walgreens, tweeting: “California won’t be doing business with Walgreens—or any company that cowers to the extremists and puts women’s lives at risk. We’re done.” Filmmaker Michael Moore has also called for a national boycott of Walgreens.
What happens now?
Walgreens said in a statement that it would still take steps to sell mifepristone “in jurisdictions where it is legal and operationally feasible.” There has been no comment yet from CVS, Costco, Walmart, Rite Aid, Albertsons, Kroger or other pharmacy chains who also received the anti-mifepristone letter from Republican state attorneys. While the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ruled to universally allow retail pharmacies to provide abortion pills earlier this year, the question of whether people living in states affected by Walgreens’s decision will be able to receive that medication by mail is still up in the air.
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