BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Two of Pennsylvania’s largest pharmacies say they will begin offering mifepristone, a medication used to induce abortion, in stores this month.
CVS and Walgreens announced the decision Friday, confirming they had received certification to distribute the medicine via the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s guidelines issued last year.
Walgreens will be the first to offer the pill in Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, California and Illinois at select pharmacies within a week.
“We want to be very clear about what our position has always been: Walgreens plans to dispense Mifepristone in any jurisdiction where it is legally permissible to do so."Walgreens in a statement
CVS will not be offering the pill in Pennsylvania to start, though it will expand to include the commonwealth soon, CVS Lead Director of External Communications Amy Thibault said in a statement Friday.
“We’ve received certification to dispense mifepristone at CVS Pharmacy and plan to fill prescriptions for this medication in states where legally permissible,” Thibault said.
“We’re working with manufacturers and suppliers to secure the medication and are not yet dispensing it in any of our pharmacies.
"We’ll begin filling prescriptions for the medication in Massachusetts and Rhode Island in the weeks ahead and will expand to additional states, where allowed by law, on a rolling basis.”
In March 6, 2023, Walgreens issued a statement on its position regarding the abortion pill and plans to offer it at physical locations.
“We want to be very clear about what our position has always been: Walgreens plans to dispense Mifepristone in any jurisdiction where it is legally permissible to do so," the statement reads.
"Once we are certified by the FDA, we will dispense this medication consistent with federal and state laws. Providing legally approved medications to patients is what pharmacies do, and is rooted in our commitment to the communities in which we operate.”
Congresswoman Susan Wild commended the two pharmacy
chains for improving access to healthcare for women in Pennsylvania.
"With reproductive rights under continual attack across the country — including the recent restrictions on in-vitro fertilization in Alabama which I am fighting back against in Congress — this announcement from Walgreens and CVS is a promising step towards expanding access to reproductive health care," Wild said in a statement.
"I've said it before and I'll say it again: everyone deserves the ability to decide if, when and how to start their families, and I'm proud that Pennsylvania will be one of the first states to utilize this new method of receiving mifepristone."
'An important milestone'
Shortly after the announcements on Friday, President Joe Biden issued a statement on the matter. Biden has indicated that abortion access will be a major issue in the 2024 presidential election.
“Today is an important milestone in ensuring access to mifepristone, a drug that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration as safe and effective for more than 20 years," Biden said.
"I encourage all pharmacies that want to pursue this option to seek certification."President Joe Biden
"With major retail pharmacy chains newly certified to dispense medication abortion, many women will soon have the option to pick up their prescription at a local, certified pharmacy — just as they would for any other medication.
"I encourage all pharmacies that want to pursue this option to seek certification."
Biden's statement also said, “The stakes could not be higher for women across America.
"In the face of relentless attacks on reproductive freedom by Republican elected officials, Vice President Harris and I will continue to fight to ensure that women can get the health care they need, to defend the Food and Drug Administration’s independent and evidence-based approval and regulation of mifepristone, and to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade in federal law.”
'At the forefront of this fight'
The FDA made a landmark decision regarding the drug in January, when it finalized a rule letting retail pharmacies dispense it, making the medication more easily available.
Patients still require a prescription to get the medication, and it will still be unavailable in states that have banned abortion.
Mifeprex, a brand name of mifepristone, is the most common medication used for termination of early pregnancies, up to 10 weeks gestation, when combined with misoprostol.
“That decision is inconsistent with established Supreme Court principles governing standing and administrative law challenges. Danco continues to be at the forefront of this fight and is working closely with the reproductive rights community and pharmaceutical industry to support the changes made by FDA.”Danco in a release contesting the Fifth Circuit Court’s decision invalidating changes the FDA approved
According to Danco, which produces Mifeprex, more than 5 million women have used the medication in the United States since its launch in 2000, with a 97% success rate.
Though the medication has been available for decades, it had to be administered under the supervision of a specially certified clinician.
By December 2021, the FDA opted to let specialty pharmacies to dispense the medication via mail. In January 2023, the FDA release guidance that would permit for brick-and-mortar pharmacies to offer mifepristone.
In December 2023, Danco issued a release contesting the Fifth Circuit Court’s decision invalidating changes the FDA approved to the conditions of use for the medication.
“That decision is inconsistent with established Supreme Court principles governing standing and administrative law challenges," it said.
"Danco continues to be at the forefront of this fight and is working closely with the reproductive rights community and pharmaceutical industry to support the changes made by FDA.”
'A big win'
Planned Parenthood Keystone President Melissa Reed called the decision to make mifepristone available via physical pharmacies “a big win for Pennsylvania and for other people who can get pregnant across the United States.”
Reed said the announcement “underscores that mifepristone is a very safe and effective medicine.”
"Pharmacies in Pennsylvania cannot provide abortions. All they can do is fill a doctor’s prescription for mifepristone, and that can only happen after a physician has complied with all of the many requirements of the law. The pharmacy must be specially certified to dispense mifepristone.”Co-Executive Director of Women's Law Project Susan J. Frietsche
Reed noted that mifepristone is not available over the counter, and still requires either a visit to a physician or a telehealth appointment and testing before it can be prescribed.
“Pennsylvania has the Abortion Control Act in place, and it will still require a medical doctor to prescribe mifepristone,” Reed said.
“And before they can do that, there are a number of steps that doctor would have to take. They have to have informed consent 24 hours beforehand, they have to have bloodwork, and confirm gestational age.
"So there are a number of steps that patient, along with their doctor, will still have to take before they can then present that prescription to CVS or to Walgreens."
The key difference in availability in Pennsylvania, Reed said, is that patients will no longer have to wait for the medication to be mailed or administered directly by a medical professional, which makes for more convenient access.
“It's great because, for us, 70 percent of our patients choose medication abortion, which is highly effective, up to 11 weeks of gestation, so I'm really happy to hear that it'll be more accessible,” Reed said.
Co-Executive Director of Women's Law Project Susan J. Frietsche said in a statement, “the Abortion Control Act still requires that all abortions are provided by licensed physicians."
"Pharmacies in Pennsylvania cannot provide abortions," Frietsche said.
"All they can do is fill a doctor’s prescription for mifepristone, and that can only happen after a physician has complied with all of the many requirements of the law.
"The pharmacy must be specially certified to dispense mifepristone.”
Walgreens did not immediately respond to LehighValleyNews.com's request for additional comment on the availability of mifepristone in Pennsylvania.
