Walgreens, CVS slammed by pro-life groups over ‘dangerous’ decision to sell abortion pill

Pro-life groups are slamming Walgreens and CVS stores’ decision to begin selling the abortion pill mifepristone in states where it’s legal starting this month, calling it “shameful.”

“As two of the world’s largest, most trusted ‘health’ brands, the decision by CVS and Walgreens to sell dangerous abortion drugs is shameful, and the harm to unborn babies and their mothers incalculable,” Katie Daniel, state policy director for Susan B. Anthony (SBA) Pro-Life America. “This reckless policy was made possible by the Biden administration, which is pushing to turn every pharmacy and post office in America into an abortion center for the sake of abortion industry greed.”

Daniel added, “Even when used under the strongest safeguards, abortion drugs send roughly one in 25 women to the emergency room, according to the FDA’s own label. Yet under Democrat presidents, the FDA has illegally rolled back basic safety standards, like in-person doctor visits, even allowing these deadly drugs to be sent through the mail.”

Friday’s announcement comes as a legal challenge to the pill, brought in Texas by pro-life groups and doctors, was due to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court this month.

PRO-LIFE STATES CONSIDER ABORTION EXCEPTIONS IN CASES OF FATAL FETAL ANOMALIES

Ingrid Skop, a board-certified OB-GYN who serves as vice president and director of medical affairs at the Charlotte Lozier Institute, a pro-life think tank, said in a statement: “Pharmacists, who do not receive clinical training, should not be distributing these dangerous drugs. By pushing these medically unsupervised abortions, the FDA and abortion advocates continue down the slippery slope of chipping away at medical standards for women seeking abortion.”

She continued, “This is not health care. This is an ideology that prioritizes destruction of unborn human life and does not care that the women injured by these abortions, whom I see in the ER on a regular basis, are collateral damage.”

President Biden praised the decision on Friday for giving women more access to health care. 

In a statement he said, “With major retail pharmacy chains now certified to dispense mifepristone, many women will soon have a new option for accessing prescribed FDA-approved medication abortion. I encourage all pharmacies that want to pursue this option to seek certification and help ensure that women can access the health care they need.”

He also accused Republican officials of “relentless attacks on reproductive freedom.”

The pharmacies had previously said they would start selling the drug last year, but later agreed they would not provide it in stores in states where Republican attorneys general had threatened to sue, prompting a backlash from pro-choice advocates. 

“We will begin dispensing the pill in select locations in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California, and Illinois,” Walgreens said on Friday.

CVS will begin filling prescriptions for the medication in Massachusetts and Rhode Island in the weeks ahead and expand to additional states, where allowed by law, on a rolling basis.

Fox Business has reached out to Walgreens and CVS for comment. 

CVS told Fox Business: “We have a long history of supporting women’s health and are focused on meeting their unique health needs. This includes providing access to safe, legal, and evidence-based reproductive health services, information, and FDA-approved products like mifepristone.” 

Reuters contributed to this report.