Mar 10, 2023 — by
Karen DeWitt (NYS Capitol Correspondent)
Gov. Kathy Hochul (second from right) rallies with Planned Parenthood supporters last spring. Photo: Ashley Hupfl
Mar 10, 2023 — Governor Kathy Hochul and State Attorney General Letitia James are asking the nation’s three largest pharmacy chains about their plans to dispense one of the two key medicines used in medication abortions, after Walgreens said it will not allow the sale of the pill in 21 states where abortion is no longer legal.
Karen DeWittHochul and James push for pharmacy chains to sell abortion medication
Walgreens stopped the sale of mifepristone after attorneys general in those states threatened pharmacy chains with legal repercussions. CVS and Rite Aid have not yet said what they might do.
Hochul and James have written a letter to the heads of the three chains. In it, they ask them to “commit to making medication abortion available in retail and mail order pharmacies across New York State,” where abortion remains legal.
Hochul, speaking on CNN, said access to the medicines used for medication abortions has become even more critical since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year.
“Pharmacies have become the new battleground, ever since women’s rights were stripped in the overturning of Roe v. Wade last June,” Hochul said. “And if they try to suspend the distribution of this important drug to women in the state of New York, there’ll be consequences.”
A federal judge in Texas is deciding a case that could outlaw mifepristone in all states. A lawsuit filed there claims the federal Food and Drug Administration erred when it approved the drug decades ago.
Hochul says if the judge rules against the use of the drug, she and the Attorney General will explore legal remedies to allow women in New York to retain access to both pills.
“We’ll make sure that we pursue every remedy available to us to make sure that women in the state of New York at least are protected,” Hochul said. “But it is heartbreaking.”
Abortions can still be induced using only the second drug in the medication abortion regimen, misoprostol, but that method is more painful, and poses more health and safety dangers to pregnant people.
Governor Kathy Hochul and State Attorney General Letitia James are asking the nation’s three largest pharmacy chains about their plans to dispense one of the two key medicines used in medication abortions, after Walgreens said it will not allow…