Walgreens and CVS Pharmacy, two large American pharmacy chains, announced on Friday March 1 that they would begin selling the abortion pill by prescription in the coming weeks in the handful of states where abortion is still authorized.
The abortion pill is the subject of an intense legal battle, started by anti-abortion activists. Until recently, it could not be obtained in American pharmacies, but was usually obtained in specific locations, such as abortion clinics.
The two chains, present practically throughout the country, have received the certification necessary for the sale by prescription of mifepristone, the first of the two pills to be taken as part of a medical abortion.
CVS Pharmacy announced that it would begin sales “in the coming weeks” in the states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and said it would subsequently extend this possibility to “additional states, where permitted by law.” Walgreens, for its part, announced that it would begin selling this pill “within a week” in the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California and Illinois.
The group declined to mention the number and location of pharmacies affected, “in the interest of pharmacist and patient safety” – a statement indicative of tensions around the issue. Walgreens also announced plans to expand sales to “all states” where it is “legally” possible.
“Fierce attacks” from the Republicans
Abortion – whether surgical or medical – has been banned or severely restricted in around twenty states since the Supreme Court repealed the federal guarantee of the right to have it in June 2022.
The federal authorities have since endeavored to use the means at their disposal to ensure that voluntary termination of pregnancy can be practiced where possible. In January 2023, health authorities changed the regulations to allow the sale in pharmacies of mifepristone, access to which has been strictly regulated since its authorization in 2000 by the United States Medicines Agency (FDA).
Walgreens and CVS Pharmacy at the time announced plans to obtain the necessary certification from manufacturers Danco and GenBioPro. Democratic President Joe Biden on Friday welcomed an “important step to ensure access to mifepristone”, which can now be obtained in pharmacies, “like any other medicine”. “The stakes could not be more important for the women of America,” he added, denouncing the “fierce attacks” of Republican elected officials on the subject.
The American Supreme Court must examine at the end of the month the decision, for the moment suspended, of an ultraconservative appeals court which, if confirmed, would notably reduce the number of weeks of pregnancy during which the abortion pill can be taken. is authorized and would prohibit its sending by post.
