New York City Comptroller Brad Lander is pressuring several major pharmaceutical retailers to dispense the abortion pill mifepristone or run the risk of divestment from the New York City pension fund.
“By failing to become certified mifepristone dispensers, these pharmacy giants put both women’s reproductive healthcare and investors’ money at risk,” Lander said in a press statement on Tuesday.
Lander sent letters this week to the leadership of Costco, Walmart, Kroger, Albertsons, and McKesson asking the corporations to become dispensers of the abortion pill as the fight over abortion access intensifies amid the 2024 election season.
Shares of the five companies account for more than $1.32 billion combined in the city’s over $270 billion pension fund.
Mifepristone, the abortion pill used in nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the United States, has become the center of controversy following a lawsuit against the drug’s Food and Drug Administration approval.
The case made it to the Supreme Court this spring, with the court finding that the plaintiffs in the case had no legal basis to justify bringing the lawsuit, thereby siding in favor of the FDA at least temporarily.
Having been on the market since 2000, mifepristone was deregulated by the FDA following the coronavirus pandemic to allow patients to obtain the pill by telemedicine without having an in-person doctor’s visit.
In January 2023, the FDA allowed pharmacies to begin dispensing mifepristone, loosening the regulation that previously only allowed clinics or medical offices to dispense the pill.
In March, just weeks before the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the landmark case against the pill, pharmaceutical giants Walgreens and CVS promised to begin dispensing the medication shortly.
Lander highlighted in his letters to the respective companies that failing to compete with Walgreens and CVS in the abortion pill market could spark investor concerns about their “responsiveness to a growing market opportunity, its mitigation of potential reputational risks, and its commitment to maximizing sales and long-term shareholder value.”
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“The boards of Costco, Walmart, Kroger, Albertsons, and McKesson should follow CVS and Walgreens and immediately take the necessary steps to receive certification to dispense the medication mifepristone in states where it is legal,” Lander said. “Making mifepristone available benefits customers and employees, increases sales, and generates long-term shareholder value.”
Costco, Walmart, Kroger, Albertsons, and McKesson did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s requests for comment.