ISSAQUAH, Wash. — Costco Wholesale Corp. will not dispense the abortion pill mifepristone at its more than 500 pharmacy locations, according to Bloomberg. The decision was praised by a coalition of faith-based investors that had urged the retailer to avoid selling the drug.
The group, which includes Idaho-based Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) Inspire Investing, Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), and financial officials from states such as Ohio, Texas, Nevada, and Utah, had petitioned Costco and other large retailers last year to refrain from stocking mifepristone. Speaking to Bloomberg, Michael Ross, legal counsel for ADF’s corporate engagement team, called the move “a very significant win,” adding that the coalition will now turn its attention to CVS Health and Walgreens Boots Alliance, which dispense the pill in states where abortion is legal.
In a statement, Costco stated that it has not observed a change in consumer demand for mifepristone, declining to comment on whether the coalition’s campaign influenced its decision. Walmart, Albertsons, and Kroger have also opted not to offer the drug.
Mifepristone, used in combination with misoprostol to end pregnancies up to 10 weeks, has been at the center of an escalating legal and political battle since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. CVS and Walgreens are the only national chains certified under FDA guidelines to dispense the medication, while anti-abortion advocates are pressing federal regulators to reinstate an in-person dispensing requirement that was lifted in 2023.
Supporters of access, including New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, criticized Costco’s stance as “short-sighted” and warned it could undermine the company’s credibility. Abortion-rights groups note that while many pharmacies avoid dispensing the pill in states with abortion bans, telehealth providers, aided by shield laws in some states, have increasingly stepped in to mail prescriptions to patients in restricted states.
Tim Schwarzenberger, Director of Corporate Engagement at Inspire, says the fight is far from over. “We have this momentum. Now there is a chance to turn to some of the other retailers.”
“This is an issue that our investors care deeply about, not just from a moral perspective, but also from a fiduciary perspective,” Schwarzenberger added. “The legal landscape is far from settled.”
According to the Guttmacher Institute, 2025 has seen a record number of state-level bills introduced to ban or limit medication abortion, underscoring the drug’s central role in the broader reproductive rights debate.
