LOUIS ( Associated Press) – Attorneys general in 20 conservatively governed US states warned CVS and Walgreens on Wednesday that they could face legal consequences if they sell abortion pills by mail order in those states.
A letter from Republican Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey to drug companies was signed by 19 other attorneys general, warning that the sale of abortion pills violates the law in many states. Missouri is one of the states that passed severe restrictions on abortion last year, after overturning a Supreme Court ruling that gave women the right to make decisions about their own pregnancies.
Bailey did not specify what legal steps he would take if stores in Missouri began selling abortion pills by mail order.
“I will enforce the laws as they are written,” Bailey said in a statement in response to questions from The Associated Press.
“This includes laws that protect the health of women and their unborn children. The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) rule directly violates federal law, and unelected FDA bureaucrats have no authority to change Missouri law. The elected representatives of the people have spoken on the issue of abortion in our state, and we will fight to defend that position in court.”
Nineteen states have banned the pills, but court battles are ongoing over whether they have the power to do so contrary to FDA-approved regulations. A doctor and a company that makes the mifepristone pill filed separate lawsuits last month to overturn the ban in North Carolina and West Virginia.
For more than 20 years, the FDA limited shipments of the pill to certain practices because of concerns about side effects. But since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency has lifted some restrictions, removing the requirement for in-person patient visits and allowing pharmacies to sell it on their premises. At least one lawsuit filed by abortion opponents argues that the FDA has exceeded its approval of the pill.
A spokesperson for Walgreens said the company is not currently selling mifepristone, although it is working toward approval through an FDA certification process that requires pharmacies to meet certain standards for shipping, tracking and confidential record storage. Is required.
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This story was reported by reporters Geoff Mulvihill in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. Contributed by Matthew Perron.
