Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) and state Attorney General Letitia James are pressuring pharmaceutical chains to commit to dispensing a major abortion drug in the state.
The state officials have asked Walgreens, Rite Aid, and CVS Health to pledge to dispense mifepristone, the first of two abortion-inducing drugs used to terminate a pregnancy through 10 weeks, to patients with a doctor's prescription in their pharmacies.
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"We write to you today to ask that you commit to making medication abortion available in your retail and mail-order pharmacies across New York State," wrote Hochul and James in a letter to CEOs of the pharmaceutical chains. "Even as access to this medication is under threat elsewhere for political reasons, we remind you that New York’s law is simple. Abortion is legal and protected as a fundamental right under state law, and there are no legal barriers to dispensing mifepristone in New York pharmacies."
It comes after Walgreens said it does not intend to seek certification from the Food and Drug Administration to dispense the abortion medication in several states where abortions and the abortion medication remain legal amid a number of Republican attorneys general threatening legal action in their states.
"We have responded to the state attorneys general letter to Walgreens dated February 1 by indicating we will not dispense Mifepristone in their respective states," a Walgreens spokesperson said in a statement to the Washington Examiner earlier this month. "We are not distributing Mifepristone at this time. We intend to be a certified pharmacy and will distribute Mifepristone only in those jurisdictions where it is legal and operationally feasible."
Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) said that California will sever business ties with Walgreens over its decision not to dispense abortion medication in states where Republicans have threatened legal repercussions.
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California will not re-sign a $54 million contract with the pharmaceutical chain to provide medications to inmates in the state's correctional system as part of its decision to cut ties, according to Politico.
The FDA announced earlier this year that retail pharmacies could become certified to offer abortion medication to patients who have received a prescription from a qualified health provider.