NEWS: Walgreens' supplier of abortion pills said it would not distribute the drug in 31 states

[In It to Win It]

Walgreens’ supplier of abortion pills said it would not distribute the drug in 31 states

Vox

Earlier this month, Politico broke news that Walgreens, the nation’s second-largest pharmacy chain, assured 21 Republican attorneys general that it would not dispense abortion pills in their states should the company be approved to dispense them. The decision was met with sharp protest by Walgreens customers, abortion rights activists, and Democrats, who accused the pharmacy of caving needlessly to pressure.

But fear of state prosecution is not the only factor shaping Walgreens’ decision-making. Another previously unreported constraint on the company is that its sole supplier of Mifeprex — the brand-name drug for the abortion pill mifepristone first approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2000 — circulated a list to its corporate clients in January naming 31 states that it would not supply the abortion medication to. Vox spoke with two sources who had reviewed that list recently.

The sole US distributor for Mifeprex is AmerisourceBergen, one of the largest pharmaceutical distribution companies in the world. (The federal government is currently suing AmerisourceBergen for allegedly distributing opioids while knowing they would later end up on the illegal market. The Pennsylvania-based company has denied this.) Back in January, AmerisourceBergen created its list of 31 states using as a source the website of the Guttmacher Institute, a reproductive research organization that tracks state abortion restrictions, according to sources with knowledge of the list’s origin.

The list’s existence underscores the precarious state of abortion rights in the US in the wake of Dobbs v. Jackson — the 2022 Supreme Court ruling that struck down Roe v. Wade, effectively leaving abortion rights to each state. Walgreens drew condemnation for saying it would not dispense abortion pills, even in states where it’s currently legal to do so. AmerisourceBergen’s list indicates another reason influencing Walgreens’ stance: a distributor — it’s the only one for this drug — had signaled that it would not supply pharmacies with abortion pills.

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[2naSalit]

1. Montana AG threatened them.

Because the magats in charge here are trying to alter the state constitution to make abortion illegal, every kind of method.

What I can say is, those boys would be walking funny if they got cut off from their female receptacles.

Payback is...

[Meadowoak]

2. They've chosen the hill they want to die on. Boycott Walgreens.

[Laffy Kat]

7. Been boycotting for a couple of years.

Right after they allowed that one pharmacy worker to refuse birth control.

[RockRaven]

3. And a multinational corporation the size of Walgreens is impotent to distribute products themselves

to themselves? Is that what we are supposed to believe? Poor weak ineffective Walgreens at the mercy of mean old distribution companies?

[In It to Win It]

4. That could depend on whatever agreement they have with the manufacturer

My understanding is that the manufacturer in this case distributes their Mifeprex product themselves.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

8. Nonetheless, you think the distributor is going to cut Walgreens off from the business they now have

with them ... because they themselves, after having purchased the products, truck them to other states?

I don't think so. Amerisource may only want to provide the drug to addresses in certain states, but they aren't going to care where they're eventually taken.

I think Walgreens is passing the buck here.

[In It to Win It]

10. I'm not really speculating whether or not they will cut Walgreens off

But I understand that Walgreens is thinking about their own self-interest in this moment. They are caught between a rock and a hard place.

Walgreens, understandably, doesn't want to open themselves up to liability. I'm just saying that if contractual relationship between Walgreens and the mifepristone manufacturer is one the dictates that Walgreens will not distribute the drug but the manufacturer will, then Walgreens will not take the chance.

[CrispyQ]

5. There's a Walgreens a few block from me.

I used to like to go & drop a few bucks on magazines, cosmetics, chocolate, whatever, but not anymore. I wrote to let them know & reminded them that for every letter like mine that they get there are hundreds more who feel the same way but didn't write.

[Emile]

6. No more Walgreens for us!

[MontanaMama]

9. Walgreens are trashy little stores.

There just is no redeeming value in them imo.

[MuseRider]

11. We just had our vote here in Kansas

and they are ripping it right out of our hands. It wasn't a small victory, it was a hugely celebrated win by the women in this state.

How in the hell can a pharmacy remove this safe form of abortion in a state where it is still legal, but sadly now not likely to be for long?

[In It to Win It]

12. The state legislature can still require that these abortion pills be

given directly by doctors in a clinic or doctor's office rather than a patient picking them up at a pharmacy unfortunately.

[MuseRider]

13. Republican super majorities

both House and Senate. No way that will happen and they are changing the rules on their votes so that they cannot be vetoed by our Democratic Governor Laura Kelley.