GOP attorneys general warn CVS, Walgreens against mailing abortion pill in their states

Republican attorneys wide successful 20 states warned CVS and Walgreens this week against mailing termination pills successful their jurisdictions, indicating that they would instrumentality ineligible action.

"We stress that it is our work arsenic State Attorneys General to uphold the instrumentality and support the health, safety, and well-being of women and unborn children successful our states," the attorneys wide warned successful letters to the nation's 2 largest drugstore chains connected Wednesday.

"Part of that work includes ensuring that companies similar yours are afloat informed of the instrumentality truthful that harm does not travel to our citizens," the attorneys wide warned.

The Food and Drug Administration approved mifepristone much than 20 years agone arsenic a harmless and effectual mode to terminate an aboriginal pregnancy. The FDA says technological and real-world grounds show that the pill is safer than surgical termination and childbirth.

The drugstores said past period that they are applying to go certified with the FDA to dispense the medicine pill successful states wherever it is ineligible to bash so.

CVS and Walgreens' determination comes aft the FDA precocious changed its rules to let retail pharmacies to dispense the pill for the archetypal clip arsenic agelong arsenic the medicine comes from a certified health-care provider.

CNBC has reached retired to the companies for remark connected the letters.

The pill, mifepristone, has go a cardinal absorption successful the conflict implicit termination successful the aftermath of the Supreme Court's determination past June to overturn Roe v. Wade, which protected entree to the process arsenic law close for 50 years.

A twelve states person fundamentally banned termination since the Supreme Court's ruling. Other states person restrictions connected mifepristone that struggle with FDA regulations connected the medication.

The Biden medication past period issued a ineligible sentiment arguing that the Postal Service tin message the pill to states wherever it is banned if the sender does not mean to interruption the law.

The Justice Department argued that adjacent successful states with terrible restrictions connected abortion, determination are exceptions wherever mifepristone would beryllium legal. The DOJ sentiment came successful effect to a petition from USPS, asking however it should navigate an 1873 instrumentality called the Comstock Act which prohibits sending thing utilized to terminate a gestation done the mail.

But the attorneys wide dismissed the Justice Department sentiment arsenic "bizarre" and said they expect the courts to uphold their presumption that mifepristone cannot beryllium sent by message successful their states.

There are respective pending ineligible cases implicit the FDA's support of mifepristone. GenBioPro, 1 of the pill's manufacturers, has sued to overturn West Virginia's termination ban, arguing that FDA support of drugs pre-empts authorities law.

Anti-abortion physicians person sued the FDA successful a national tribunal successful Texas to completely propulsion mifepristone from the U.S. market. The FDA has called that suit "extraordinary and unprecedented" and warned that a determination successful the physicians favour would harm its support powers.

The letters to CVS and Walgreens were signed by the attorneys wide of Missouri, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.