COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio is among the 20 states where Walgreens has vowed not to sell mifepristone, an abortion-inducing drug, after Dave Yost and other Republican attorneys general warned the company to refrain from participating in a new Biden administration program.
“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,” Danielle C. Gray, executive vice president and global chief legal officer of Walgreens Boots Alliance, wrote in a Feb. 27 letter to Yost. “If this approach changes, we will be sure to notify you.”
The Food and Drug Administration previously required mifepristone – the first of a two-drug regimen that’s used in many first-trimester abortions – to be dispensed only by clinics. But since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last June, President Joe Biden has sought to expand access to abortion by allowing retail pharmacies to dispense the drug in stores and through the mail. Pharmacies must become certified through the FDA before they can obtain mifepristone.
Yost and other Republican attorneys general who oppose abortion rights sent Walgreens and CVS letters on Feb. 1, arguing the FDA program is illegal under state and federal laws. They cite a federal law they believe makes it illegal to mail abortion medications. In Ohio, a state law prohibits the use of telemedicine for medication abortion, but a judge put it on hold.
It’s unclear what CVS intends to do in Ohio. It has not replied to any messages from the Plain Dealer / cleveland.com. But Walgreens has retreated from the state.
The attorney generals’ stance could set up a conflict with the Biden administration’s regulations that may be decided by the courts.
In Texas, a federal judge is expected to soon rule on whether the FDA should have approved mifepristone 20 years ago. His decision could take the drug off the market nationwide.
During most medication abortions, a patient first takes mifepristone, which blocks the progesterone hormone, causing the uterus lining to thin and preventing the fetus from staying implanted and growing. Hours later, the woman takes misoprostol, causing the uterus to contract and expel the fetus through the vagina. Women usually can have the abortion at home without needing to go to a hospital or clinic, since most symptoms are similar to a heavy period.
The FDA is not changing the regulations of misoprostol, which had always been easier to obtain and can be prescribed for other conditions in addition to abortion.
Over half of abortions provided in Ohio used medication in 2021, the most recent year for which data is available. Ohio Department of Health data collected from abortion clinics showed 10,240 abortions were induced with medication, mostly with mifepristone and misoprostol. The remaining 9,152 abortions were surgical.
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Laura Hancock covers state government and politics for Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. Read more of here coverage here.