CVS and Walgreens plan to start dispensing abortion pill mifepristone soon
abortion pill in a few states within weeks. CVS Health will start filling prescriptions for mifepristone in Rhode Island and neighboring Massachusetts “in the weeks ahead," spokeswoman Amy Thibault said Friday. Walgreens will begin dispensing the medication within a week, spokesman Fraser Engerman said.
The chain will start with some locations in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California and Illinois. He said the company was starting in “in select locations to allow us to ensure quality, safety and privacy for our patients, providers and team members." Thibault said CVS Health will add states “where allowed by law, on a rolling basis." The New York Times first reported the retailers' plans. CVS Health Corp., the nation’s largest drugstore chain, runs nearly 9,400 locations.
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. has about 8,700 U.S. stores.
Their announcements Friday marked “an important milestone" in ensuring mifepristone access, President Joe Biden said in a statement. He noted that many women will soon be able to pick up their prescriptions at a local, certified pharmacy like they would any other medication. “I encourage all pharmacies that want to pursue this option to seek certification," he said.
The moves by CVS and Walgreens come more than a year after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration finalized a rule change that broadened availability of abortion pills to many more pharmacies, including large chains and mail-order companies. The FDA in 2000 approved mifepristone to terminate pregnancies of up to 10 weeks, when used with a second drug, misoprostol.
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