Walgreens and CVS said Friday that they are preparing to start making the abortion pill mifepristone available as early as next week in states where it is legal.
Walgreens said it has completed the Food and Drug Administration's certification process to sell mifepristone and expects to do so within a week. “We are beginning a phased rollout at select locations to ensure quality, safety and privacy for our patients, providers and team members,” the company said.
CVS said it is “working with manufacturers and suppliers to secure the drug and is not yet dispensing it at any of our pharmacies,” adding that it will “begin issuing prescriptions for the drug in the coming weeks.” Massachusetts and Rhode Island will begin and expand.” to other states, if permitted by law, on an ongoing basis.”
The move by two of the country's largest pharmacy networks promises to expand availability of the drug, which is the subject of a legal dispute over whether the Food and Drug Administration properly approved it and which now faces a decision in the U.S. Supreme Court.
The news was first reported by The New York Times.
“With major retail pharmacy chains newly certified to dispense abortion medications, many women will soon have the option to pick up their prescription at a local, certified pharmacy – just like they would with any other medication,” President Biden said in a statement. “I encourage all pharmacies who wish to utilize this option to become certified.”
The FDA changed its risk protocol for mifepristone in January 2023, allowing pharmacies to become certified to dispense the drug to prescription patients as long as they meet the agency's requirements.
Walgreens has come under pressure from both sides of the abortion debate. The company angered abortion rights advocates last year by saying it would not provide abortion pills in 21 states, including four states where abortion is still legal. There were also protests from anti-abortion activists who objected to Walgreens even selling abortion pills.
Mifepristone works by blocking a hormone necessary for a pregnancy to develop and is used in combination with another drug in more than half of all abortions in the country. It was originally approved more than 20 years ago by the FDA, which then relaxed its regulations for obtaining it.
A decision by the appeals court would make access to the medication more difficult. The Biden administration and the manufacturer of mifepristone are asking the Supreme Court to overturn this ruling. The justices agreed to hear the case in December and have scheduled a hearing for oral arguments later this month.
Walgreens said Friday that it would begin dispensing mifepristone at certain locations in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California and Illinois. The company said it would not specify which pharmacies would carry the drug “in the interest of pharmacist and patient safety.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.