New York’s governor and attorney general on Thursday called on major pharmacy chains Walgreens, Rite Aid and CVS to commit to dispensing prescribed medication abortion in the state, both in pharmacy locations and through mail orders.
“Even as access to this medication is under threat elsewhere for political reasons, we remind you that New York’s law is simple,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and state Attorney General Letitia James wrote in a letter to the pharmacies’ executives. “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.”
The letter comes nearly a week after Walgreens said it will not dispense mifepristone, the first of two drugs in the medication abortion process, in 21 states – including a handful where abortion remains legal – following a February 1 letter from GOP attorneys general in those states. The future of medication abortion, which is used in more than half of all procedures nationwide, remains in question as a Texas judge weighs issuing a ban on Mifepristone.
“We urge you not to allow these tactics to intimidate you, and to commit to making this critical medication available as widely as possible, based on a fair and unbiased interpretation of state and federal law,” Hochul and James wrote in the letter.
The letter asks the pharmacies to respond within 10 business days confirming whether they will commit to distributing Mifepristone in the state, or explaining a legal rationale if they refuse to do so.
The US Food and Drug Administration said in January that pharmacies can hand out Mifepristone to people with prescriptions for the pill, sparking backlash from Republican states looking to cut back on access to abortion.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday that California would be “pulling back” a renewal of a $54 million contract with Walgreens that would have taken effect May 1, in light of the major retailer’s decision to not distribute Mifepristone in those 21 states.
Walgreens senior director for external relations Fraser Engerman said in a Wednesday statement that the company’s “position has always been that, once we are certified by the FDA, Walgreens plans to dispense Mifepristone in any jurisdiction where it is legally permissible to do so.”
Yet the company indicated in a letter to Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach in February it wouldn’t dispense the drug there, even as abortion there remains protected under state law.
CNN’s Gregory Krieg and Nathaniel Meyersohn contributed to this report.
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