Democrats press Walmart, Costco, Kroger on mifepristone

House Democrats on Thursday called on Walmart, Costco, Kroger, Safeway and Health Mart to publicly commit to sell the prescription abortion pill mifepristone at their retail pharmacies.

Pending lawsuits have jeopardized mifepristone’s approval within the U.S. For now, it’s probably the most common method to terminate a pregnancy within the country.

The five firms have been silent for months on whether they may get certified to sell mifepristone under a Food and Drug Administration program that monitors how the medication is distributed and utilized by patients.

“It’s unconscionable that five of the most important retail pharmacies within the country are refusing to declare whether they may receive certification to supply basic, legal, FDA-approved medication abortion health look after Americans,” Rep. Dan Goldman, D-NY, said in a press release Thursday.

Goldman and Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., sent a letter asking the businesses’ CEOs to verify by June 23 whether their pharmacies will get certified to sell the abortion pill.

Greater than 50 other Democratic lawmakers signed on to the letter.

“Your continued silence is unacceptable because it is misaligned along with your publicly stated values in support of equal access to health care and of gender equality,” the lawmakers told the CEOs within the letter.

Democratic governors and senators asked the businesses in March whether their pharmacies will get certified to dispense the medication. The businesses still haven’t taken a public position on the problem.

The most important retail pharmacies within the U.S. have found themselves increasingly caught in the midst of the national battle over abortion access, which was set in motion by the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade last June. Greater than a dozen states have banned abortion for the reason that high court overturned the landmark 1973 decision that protected access to the procedure as a right under the U.S. Structure.

As conservative states implemented abortion bans after the autumn of Roe, the FDA sought in January to expand access to mifepristone by allowing retail pharmacies for the primary time to dispense the medication in the event that they get certified.

The agency also permanently allowed women to acquire the pill by mail.

CVS and Walgreens, the 2 largest pharmacy chains within the U.S., said shortly after the FDA decision that they might get certified to sell mifepristone where it’s legal to dispense the medication.

The businesses soon faced a backlash from Republican state attorneys general, who fear easier access to mifepristone particularly by mail will undermine their states’ restrictive abortion laws or outright bans. 

The GOP attorneys general warned the CEOs of CVS and Walgreens that they might take legal motion if the businesses sold the pill of their states. Walgreens confirmed to the attorneys general that the corporate wouldn’t sell mifepristone of their states.

Walgreens then got smacked by California Gov. Gavin Newsom. The liberal governor refused to renew a state contract with Walgreens over its move.

Mifepristone’s status as a FDA-approved medication faces a deeply uncertain future, even in states where abortion stays legal.

A gaggle of doctors who oppose abortion sued the FDA last November to drag mifepristone from the U.S. market entirely.

U.S. Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk within the Northern District of Texas ruled within the antiabortion doctors favor in April and suspended the FDA approval. The Supreme Court intervened within the case and preserved access to mifepristone because the litigation plays out.

A panel of three judges at U.S. fifth Circuit Court of Appeals now has the case and will issue a ruling at any time. The appeals court judges appeared skeptical of the Justice Department’s defense of mifepristone during oral arguments in May.

The case will likely find yourself before the Supreme Court again, particularly if the appeals court rules against mifepristone.