[Editor’s Note: This story was updated on Jan. 9 to include a statement from CVS.]
America’s two largest drug store chains — Walgreens and CVS — have both confirmed that they plan to dispense the abortion pill mifepristone now that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the medication for retail pharmacy sales.
Medication-induced abortions were first approved by the FDA in 2000 and currently account for 54% of all pregnancy terminations in the U.S., according to the Guttmacher Institute. Mifepristone — the first of two drugs used in medication abortions — was previously only available through clinics and doctors. (The second drug, misoprostol, is not as tightly restricted as mifepristone, as it is used for a number of other medical conditions.) During the pandemic, a rule requiring that mifepristone be picked up in person was lifted to allow for mail-order delivery.
On Jan. 3, 2022, the FDA officially removed the in-person pickup regulation and added the ability for pharmacies to become certified to dispense the drug. Now any pharmacy that becomes certified by the FDA can dispense mifepristone in stores and via mail-order in states where abortion is legal. Pharmacies cannot offer the medicine in states that have completely banned abortion, and patients will still need a prescription from a certified healthcare provider to access the medication.
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Retailers now must decide whether they will take the necessary steps to begin offering the drug, a process with requirements such as designating an employee to ensure compliance, according to the New York Times. Both CVS and Walgreens confirmed to Retail TouchPoints that they plan to seek the necessary certifications to begin selling mifepristone in states where it is legal to do so.
“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,” said Walgreens spokesperson Fraser Engerman in comments shared with Retail TouchPoints.
“We’re reviewing the FDA’s updated Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) drug safety program for mifepristone to determine the requirements to fill prescriptions for this medication in our retail pharmacies,” said CVS spokesperson Matt Blanchette in comments shared with Retail TouchPoints. “Following that review, we plan to seek certification to fill mifepristone prescriptions written by authorized providers where legally permissible and we’ll follow all FDA safety protocols regarding the medication. The manufacturers are responsible for administering the REMS program, including the certification process, so they will determine the timeline for certification.”
Other large U.S. pharmacy providers — including Walmart, Kroger and Albertsons — have not yet shared their plans and did not respond to Retail TouchPoints’ requests for comment by the time of publication.
