CVS and Walgreens to begin carrying abortion pill mifepristone within weeks

Adrianna Rodriguez, USA TODAY
·2 min read
8

Abortion pills will become available at certain Walgreens and CVS pharmacies in the upcoming weeks.

The Food and Drug Administration has allowed the pharmacy chains to provide a prescription medication that initiates an abortion, according to company statements.

Walgreens will begin dispensing the drug within a week through a phased rollout, starting with New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California and Illinois. The company won’t disclose exactly which stores will be dispensing mifepristone, citing safety reasons, but says the goal is to expand to more states where medication abortion is legal.

Mifepristone is used with another medication called misoprostol to end a pregnancy that is less than 70 days developed. The pills are taken about two days apart.
Mifepristone is used with another medication called misoprostol to end a pregnancy that is less than 70 days developed. The pills are taken about two days apart.

According to the company’s statement, Walgreens employees may be able to request an exemption from dispensing mifepristone due to moral, religious, or ethical objections.

CVS also recently received FDA certification for the abortion pill and plans to begin dispensing the medication in Massachusetts and Rhode Island in the weeks ahead, expanding to other states on a rolling basis where abortion is legal.

According to Planned Parenthood, mifepristone is the first pill prescribed by a doctor to block the progesterone hormone that pregnancy requires. A second medication, misoprostol, is typically taken at home 24-48 hours later. It causes cramping and bleeding to empty the uterus.

Planned Parenthood said medication abortion is an option up to 70 days or 10 weeks after the start of the last period. By day 71, patients can visit a clinic to end a pregnancy in states where abortion is legal.

In the past, requirements surrounding mifepristone meant that patients had to pick up their prescriptions at their provider’s office. Misoprostol has already been available by prescription in most pharmacies, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule in two mifepristone-related cases by June. In one of the cases, the high court will review an appellate ruling that significantly restricted the use of mifepristone, repealing the FDA's decision to make the drug available through telemedicine and U.S. mail.

CVS and Walgreens did not respond to USA TODAY's questions about whether the pharmacies would make mifepristone prescriptions available for delivery.

Contributing: Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY.

Adrianna Rodriguez is a health reporter for the USA TODAY nation team. Contact Adrianna at adrodriguez@usatoday.com or @AdriannaUSAT on X.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: CVS, Walgreens to carry abortion pill mifepristone within weeks