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NEW YORK — CVS Health Corp. and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. said Friday they will begin to offer the abortion pill mifepristone in select states starting this month.
The drug-store chains will offer the medication by prescription only at their pharmacies in states where’s it’s legally allowed. The news was first reported by the New York Times.
President Joe Biden welcomed the news which he said was an important milestone for a drug that has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration and deemed safe and effective for more than 20 years.
“The stakes could not be higher for women across America,” Biden said in a statement.
He criticized the “relentless attacks on reproductive freedom by Republican elected officials,” and vowed to work with Vice President Kamala Harris to fight for the healthcare that women need and restore the protections that were offered under Roe vs. Wade before it was overturned in 2022.
“We’ll begin filling prescriptions for the medication in Massachusetts and Rhode Island in the weeks ahead and will expand to additional states, where allowed by law, on a rolling basis,” CVS said in a statement.
Walgreens expects to begin dispensing the drug “within a week,” the company said. It will start providing the pill in a small number of its pharmacies in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California and Illinois.
