California Governor Gavin Newsom said Monday afternoon that the state will officially cut ties with Walgreens after the retail pharmacy chain announced it wouldn’t provide abortion pills in certain states where the procedure is still legal.
In a tweet Monday, Newsom stated “California won’t be doing business with Walgreens – or any company that cowers to the extremists and puts women’s lives at risk.”
“We’re done,” he added.
Newsom’s announcement comes days after Walgreens stated it would not be dispensing mifepristone, an abortion pill that’s approved by the Food and Drug Administration, in all states – even in some where abortion is legal, POLITICO reported. Walgreens currently doesn’t dispense the drug in any location.
Walgreen’s decision was in response to a letter written by 20 Republican attorneys general from states including Indiana, Missouri and Alabama threatening legal action against the company if it began distributing the drug or providing it via mail in their states.
The FDA had recently announced it would lift an in-person requirement for certain certified pharmacies to dispense mifepristone and allow the pills to be distributed via mail. Retail pharmacies including Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid planned to apply for that certification, prompting Republican-led states to make legal threats.
“In December, the Biden administration’s Office of Legal Counsel encouraged the U.S. Postal Service to disregard this plain text,” the attorneys general argued in the letter. “But the text, not the Biden administration’s view, is what governs.”
In a response to the letter, Danielle Gray, executive vice president and global chief legal officer of Walgreens Boots Alliance, noted that Walgreens was currently working through a certification process with the FDA to determine where it will dispense mifepristone.
“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,” Gray wrote. “If this approach changes, we will be sure to notify you.”
In many of those states, however, abortion is still legal. The news prompted backlash among reproductive rights advocates in addition to Newsom.
“This is all part of a continued effort by anti-abortion extremists who want to use this arcane law to impose a backdoor ban on abortion,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a news briefing.
In a statement released on Monday, Walgreens responded to the controversy, noting “once we are certified by the FDA, we will dispense this medication consistent with federal and state laws.”
“We want to be very clear about what our position has always been: Walgreens plans to dispense mifepristone in any jurisdiction where it is legally permissible to do so,” the company stated. “Providing legally approved medications to patients is what pharmacies do, and is rooted in our commitment to the communities in which we operate.”
