Walgreens and CVS, two of the largest U.S. pharmacy chains, plan to start offering abortion pills, following the Food and Drug Administration’s Tuesday announcement that it will allow retail pharmacies to offer the drug, the companies told Axios.
Under the FDA’s regulatory change, pharmacies can apply to become certified to dispense mifepristone, which is used in first-trimester abortions. Pharmacies still need to comply with the laws of the state they are located in, some of which restrict the ability to provide abortion pills. Certified pharmacies can offer mifepristone only after receiving a prescription from a certified health provider.
A Walgreens spokesperson said that it is taking the steps “to become a certified pharmacy,” becoming the first national pharmacy chain to make such an announcement.
“We are working through the registration, necessary training of our pharmacists, as well as evaluating our pharmacy network in terms of where we normally dispense products that have extra FDA requirements and will dispense these consistent with federal and state laws,” the Walgreens spokesperson added. (SOURCE)
