New York Attorney General Letitia James and 23 other attorneys general have written an open letter to CVS and Walgreens, supporting their decision to offer medication abortion, mifepristone, and misoprostol, at their pharmacies. The move came after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) expanded the availability of abortion pills, and more pharmacies have completed a certification process.
A group of anti-abortion states had written a letter to the pharmacy chains, warning them of legal repercussions if they attempted to dispense the medications by mail.
The attorneys general have emphasized that making these essential medications available is safe, legal and that restricting access to medication abortion jeopardizes patients’ health, safety and well-being. They also stressed the importance of increased access to reproductive health care for underserved communities, including those who live in rural areas.
Mifepristone and misoprostol have been approved by the FDA for over two decades and are widely used for abortion care and to treat other health issues, such as miscarriages and gastric ulcers. If a federal judge rules in favor of an anti-abortion group’s lawsuit filed in Texas seeking to reverse the FDA’s approval of the drugs, it could halt the supply of mifepristone in all states, both where abortion is banned and where it remains legal.
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