President Biden on Friday praised America’s two largest pharmacy chains for distributing the abortion pill mifepristone, hailing it as a milestone for women.
The president’s statement came moments after officials at CVS and Walgreens announced they will start dispensing mifepristone this month under Food and Drug Administration guidelines issued last year.
The chains said they would make the medication available in stores in a handful of states before expanding it to other states where abortion is legal. That accounts for roughly half the states.
CVS and Walgreens said they won’t provide the medication by mail. Both companies obtained certification to dispense the drug.
Certification is obtained by complying with a series of regulations, including protecting the privacy of prescribers. The drug manufacturers are the ones who grant the pharmacy certification.
In a statement, Mr. Biden encouraged all pharmacies to seek certification to dispense mifepristone, saying, “The stakes could not be higher for women across America.”
He added, “Today is an important milestone in ensuring access to mifepristone, a drug that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration as safe and effective for more than 20 years.”
As certain states have begun restricting access to abortion, mifepristone may become a more popular alternative.
However, the future of the drug could be decided by a case the Supreme Court will hear this month. Abortion opponents have sued the FDA, demanding mifepristone be removed from the U.S. market.
An appeals court didn’t remove the drug from the market but banned it from being dispensed over the mail and required in-person doctor visits to obtain a prescription. As a result, patients could obtain mifepristone by visiting a clinic, doctor or pharmacy.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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