California is not going to renew a $54 million contract with Walgreens over the pharmacy chain’s decision to not sell the abortion pill mifepristone in some states as a consequence of legal restrictions.
“California is not going to stand by as corporations cave to extremists and cut off critical access to reproductive care and freedom,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a press release Wednesday. “California is heading in the right direction to be the fourth largest economy on the planet and we are going to leverage our market power to defend the suitable to decide on.”
Newsom said Monday that the state was “done” doing business with Walgreens. California used the contract to purchase specialty pharmaceuticals for the prison system. The state is reviewing all its business contracts with Walgreens.
Walgreens, in a press release Thursday, said it’s “deeply upset” by California’s decision, which the corporate blamed on “false and misleading information.”
“Walgreens is facing the identical circumstances as all retail pharmacies, and no other retail pharmacies have said that they’d approach this example in a different way, so it’s unclear where this contract would now be moved,” said Fraser Engerman, an organization spokesperson.
“Our position has all the time been that, once we’re certified by the FDA, Walgreens plans to dispense Mifepristone in any jurisdiction where it’s legally permissible to achieve this, including the state of California,” Engerman said.
Republican attorneys general in 21 states warned Walgreens in February that selling or distributing the abortion pill of their states would violate local laws.
The pharmacy chain told them it might not sell or mail mifepristone of their states.
The Food and Drug Administration in January allowed retail pharmacies comparable to Walgreens to sell mifepristone as long as they turn into certified under an agency program that monitors how the pill is used and distributed. Walgreens and CVS have said they plan to turn into certified under that program.
At the very least 12 states have banned abortion for the reason that Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. Several other states have tighter restrictions on mifepristone than the FDA does.
Walgreens can also be not selling the abortion pill in states comparable to Alaska, Kansas and Montana where abortion is protected for granted under the states’ constitutions.
Alaska requires patients to get the pill from a health care provider. In Kansas, the state had required patients to acquire the abortion pill in person from a physician, but a state court blocked that law in November. Montana’s requirement that patients visit a health care provider to get mifepristone can also be temporarily blocked by a court.
The pharmacy chain may also not sell mifepristone in Iowa, where the state Supreme Court last 12 months overturned state constitutional protections for abortion.
Join CNBC’s Healthy Returns on March 29, where we’ll convene a virtual gathering of CEOs, scientists, investors and innovators within the health-care space to reflect on the progress made today to reinvent the long run of medication. Plus, we’ll have an exclusive rundown of one of the best investment opportunities in biopharma, health tech and managed care. Learn more and register today:Â http://bit.ly/3DUNbRo
