A group of 20 Republican attorneys general have warned CVS and Walgreens about what they say are “unsafe and illegal” plans to sell abortion pills by mail.
Republican Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey spearheaded letters informing CVS and Walgreens that their plans to sell abortion pills by mail are illegal under federal and state laws. (RELATED: Father Raided By FBI Found Not Guilty Of Federal Charges Alleging He Assaulted Abortion Worker)
In an effort to uphold the laws as written and defend the welfare of women and unborn children, I led a coalition of 20 AGs in sending a letter to CVS and Walgreens informing them that their announced plan to use the mail to distribute abortion pills is both unsafe and illegal. pic.twitter.com/iTpyK7EYiM
— Attorney General Andrew Bailey (@AGAndrewBailey) February 1, 2023
“Federal law expressly prohibits using the mail to send or receive any drug that will ‘be used or applied for producing abortion,'” the AGs said. “The text could not be clearer: ‘every article or thing designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion … shall not be conveyed in the mails.’ And anyone who ‘knowingly takes any such thing from the mails for the purpose of circulating’ is guilty of a federal crime.”
They also argue that abortion pills are much more likely than surgical abortion to result in complications for the mother and child, based on existing scientific consensus. The letters were signed by attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia.
“We emphasize that it is our responsibility as State Attorneys General to uphold the law and protect the health, safety, and well-being of women and unborn children in our states,” the AGs concluded.
CVS and Walgreens are seeking certification to sell abortion pill mifepristone after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted retail pharmacies the ability to sell abortion pills in January, Reuters reported. Mifepristone is one of two pills needed for an abortion via medication.
“As Attorney General, it is my responsibility to enforce the laws as written, and that includes enforcing the very laws that protect Missouri’s women and unborn children,” Bailey said in a press release, which referred to the plans as “unsafe and illegal.”
A Walgreens spokesperson told the Daily Caller it is not dispensing mifepristone at this time. “[W]e fully understand that we may not be able to dispense Mifepristone in all locations if we are certified under the program,” the spokesperson said.
CVS did not immediately respond to requests for comment.