20 Republican Attorneys general threaten to go after CVS and Walgreens if they sell abortion pills
Customer walking into a CVS location. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
More than a dozen attorneys general sent a threatening letter to the chains, citing a law from 1873
Acoalition of 20 Republican attorneys general warned CVS and Walgreens that they could face legal consequences if they sell abortion pills.
While retail pharmacies are allowed to offer abortion pills under Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations, the attorneys general told the bigger chains in a letter that selling the drug mifepristone, which is used for medical abortions, is "unsafe and illegal."
"As Attorney General, it is my responsibility to enforce the laws as written, and that includes enforcing the very laws that protect Missouri's women and unborn children," Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey said in a statement.
"My Office is doing everything in its power to inform these companies of the law, with the promise that we will use every tool at our disposal to uphold the law if broken," he added.
The statement also makes the unfounded claims that "abortion pills impose far higher risks of complications compared to surgical abortions" and that "abortion pills, especially when distributed by mail, make coerced abortions much easier."
The FDA approved mifepristone more than 20 years ago as a safe and effective way to terminate early pregnancy. The FDA also confirmed that the pill is safer than surgical abortion and childbirth through scientific and real-world evidence. It is now the most widely used form of abortion in the U.S.
