CVS, Walgreens to hold abortion tablet mifepristone inside weeks
Abortion drugs will change into out there at sure Walgreens and CVS pharmacies within the upcoming weeks.
The Meals and Drug Administration has allowed the pharmacy chains to supply a prescription treatment that initiates an abortion, in accordance with firm statements.
Walgreens will start allotting the drug inside per week via a phased rollout, beginning with New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California and Illinois. The corporate gained’t disclose precisely which shops will likely be allotting mifepristone, citing security causes, however says the aim is to increase to extra states the place treatment abortion is authorized.
In response to the corporate’s assertion, Walgreens workers could possibly request an exemption from allotting mifepristone resulting from ethical, non secular, or moral objections.
CVS additionally not too long ago obtained FDA certification for the abortion tablet and plans to start allotting the treatment in Massachusetts and Rhode Island within the weeks forward, increasing to different states on a rolling foundation the place abortion is authorized.
In response to Deliberate Parenthood, mifepristone is the primary tablet prescribed by a physician to dam the progesterone hormone that being pregnant requires. A second treatment, misoprostol, is usually taken at residence 24-48 hours later. It causes cramping and bleeding to empty the uterus.
Deliberate Parenthood mentioned treatment abortion is an choice as much as 70 days or 10 weeks after the beginning of the final interval. By day 71, sufferers can go to a clinic to finish a being pregnant in states the place abortion is authorized.
Prior to now, necessities surrounding mifepristone meant that sufferers needed to decide up their prescriptions at their supplier’s workplace. Misoprostol has already been out there by prescription in most pharmacies, in accordance with the American School of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
The U.S. Supreme Courtroom is predicted to rule in two mifepristone-related instances by June. In one of many instances, the excessive court docket will overview an appellate ruling that considerably restricted the usage of mifepristone, repealing the FDA’s resolution to make the drug out there via telemedicine and U.S. mail.
CVS and Walgreens didn’t reply to USA TODAY’s questions on whether or not the pharmacies would make mifepristone prescriptions out there for supply.
Contributing: Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY.
Adrianna Rodriguez is a well being reporter for the USA TODAY nation staff. Contact Adrianna at adrodriguez@usatoday.com or @AdriannaUSAT on X.
