February 24, 2023

CVS and Walgreens Receive Opposing AG Letters Regarding Plans to Offer Medication Abortion

Lori Kalani, Bernard Nash

Cozen O'Connor

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Cozen O'Connor

A group of 23 Democratic AGs sent a letter to CVS Heath and Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc., sharing their support for the companies’ recent announcements that they would become certified to sell mifepristone and misoprostol, drugs used in medication abortions, in their retail pharmacies. The announcements followed the FDA’s change to its regulations to allow retail drug stores to dispense the abortion drugs. Previously, patients were required to obtain the medications in-person at clinics, hospitals, and other certified health-care providers.
The letter served as a rebuttal to recent letters sent to CVS and Walgreens by a group of 20 Republican AGs, which contained assessments that federal and some state laws prohibit mail distribution of abortion drugs. The Democratic AGs’ letter questions that interpretation of federal law and emphasized the safety of the drugs and the dangers of restricting access to them.
The competing AG letters are the latest development in a partisan AG conflict over medication abortion in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision. As we reported last week, dueling coalitions of 22 Democratic AGs and 22 Republican AGs submitted amicus briefing on opposing sides of a Texas lawsuit that challenges the FDA’s 2000 approval of mifepristone.

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DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.