- Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that California will no longer do business with Walgreens, after the company decided that it would not distribute abortion-inducing drugs to numerous Republican-led states.
- Walgreens’ decision follows a letter from over two dozen Republican attorneys general that threatened the company with legal contest should they choose to distribute the drug.
- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the sale of the drug in January, and GenBioPro, the company that makes the drug, quickly filed a lawsuit against the states that worked to block the drugs distribution.
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that California will no longer do business with Walgreens or any other company that “puts women’s lives at risk,” after the company agreed not to distribute abortion-inducing drugs in certain Republican-led states.
The decision follows a letter from nearly two dozen Republican attorneys general in February that threatened Walgreens Executive Vice President Danielle Gray with legal action should the company choose to distribute the abortion drug mifepristone in their respective states. On March 3, Walgreens responded to Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, notifying him that the drug would not be offered in his state, according to a letter from Gray. (RELATED: Gov. Newsom Signs Law Allowing Human Composting As Burial Method)
“California won’t be doing business with Walgreens or any company that cowers to the extremists and puts women’s lives at risk,” Newsom said in response to Walgreens’ decision. “We’re done.”
Alabama, Missouri, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Texas and other states on the February letter have also received similar confirmation that the abortion pill will not be offered, NPR reported. Gray did note that the company is looking into certification in some states, but did not specify any locations.
The drug store giant is currently not offering the abortion pills at any of its locations, PBS reported.
“Walgreens does not intend to dispense Mifepristone within your state and does not intend to ship Mifepristone into your state from any of our pharmacies. If this approach changes, we will be sure to notify you,” Gray said in the letter.
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.https://t.co/OB10cYfm8H
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) March 6, 2023
In January, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that pharmacies would be able to dispense mifepristone. The drug does not treat ectopic pregnancies, and women with undiagnosed ectopic pregnancies may risk hemorrhaging and death, according to the pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute.
The FDA’s decision followed the overturn of Roe v. Wade in June.
Weeks after the FDA’s decision, GenBioPro, the company that manufactures mifepristone, filed a federal lawsuit against states that blocked chemical abortions, The New York Times reported. The company argued that the FDA designation should take priority over state laws in accordance with the Commerce Clause of the Constitution.
“Our case makes clear that nothing in the Court’s decision last year in Dobbs displaced Congress and FDA’s role in deciding whether medications are safe and effective and determining which regulations should be imposed on mifepristone. States cannot substitute their medical and scientific judgments for judgments FDA has made, and doing so undermines not only access to medication, but the country’s entire drug regulation system,” Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward and counsel for GenBioPro, said in a statement provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Alongside the attorneys general, Family Research Council (FRC) and 13 other pro-life groups sent a letter to Walgreens that referenced the potential legal consequences of offering the drug. The groups noted that women that take the drug could be severely injured or killed, further saying that chemical abortion prescriptions may have a negative effect on the company’s public image.
“Converting your pharmacies into abortion facilities presents many potential legal concerns for your company…Retail pharmacies may not be directly required to ensure that all proper health and safety protocols still required by the FDA are met by the prescribers, but a lack of medical oversight by the prescribers may still lead to foreseeable consequences for the woman taking the chemical abortion pills,” the groups wrote in the letter.
Walgreens and Newsom did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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