CVS and Walgreens will begin selling the oral abortion drug “Mifepristone” this month, focusing on stores in the state that legalize abortion, according to the New York Times and Reuters on the 1st local time. Walgreens said it has completed the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s certification process for the sale of “Mifepristone” and expects to sell it within a week.
“For the quality, safety, and privacy of patients, medical staff, and team members, we are beginning phased introduction in some areas,” Walgreens said. “We are working with manufacturers and suppliers to secure medications, and our pharmacies have not yet dispensed them,” CVS said. “In the coming weeks, we will begin to provide prescription medications in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and we will gradually expand them to additional states that are legally permitted.” Earlier in January last year, the FDA amended its risk protocol for the oral abortion drug mifepristone, allowing it to be sold in retail pharmacies as long as it complies with FDA requirements. Mifepristone, known as an intravenous abortion pill, was authorized by the U.S. FDA in 2000.The sale of edible abortion pills by CVS and Walgreens is notable in that the Joe Biden administration and Democrats have been pushing since the U.S. Supreme Court repealed a “Wade to Roe” case in June 2022, which was the basis for recognizing women’s abortions as a constitutional right. On the other hand, Republicans and conservative groups in the U.S. argue that abortion needs to be more strictly restricted at the state and national level after the Supreme Court ruling. Some conservative groups have also filed lawsuits against the FDA for not properly considering the risks when it first approved the use of mifepristone back in 2022 and when easing restrictions on distribution since then. The Supreme Court is currently considering the sale of abortion pills. President Joe Biden, who is making the issue of abortion issues ahead of the upcoming presidential election in November, called the decision by the two drugstore chains a “recontingency” that guarantees access to abortion pills.”As major retail pharmacy chains have been newly certified to provide abortion pills, many women will soon have the option to receive prescription drugs from their local certified pharmacies, just like any other drug,” Biden said in a statement. “I encourage all pharmacies seeking to pursue this option to be certified.”
SALLY LEE
US ASIA JOURNAL
