California terminates Walgreen’s contract over abortion pill dispute
California Gov. Gavin Newsom pulled out of a $54 million deal with Walgreens on Wednesday after the pharmacy giant indicated it would not sell an abortion pill through the mail in some conservative-run states.
Newsom on Wednesday ordered state officials not to renew a contract with Walgreens to purchase specialty prescription drugs for California’s prison health system, including antiviral and antifungal drugs and drugs used to treat congestive heart failure. Walgreens has received about $54 million from the contract, which expires on April 30.
Newsom’s office said the state would buy the drugs elsewhere.
“California will not stand by as corporations cave in to extremists and shut down critical access to reproductive care and freedom,” Newsom said in a release. “California is on track to become the fourth largest economy in the world, and we will use our market power to defend the right to free choice.”
A representative for Walgreens, based in Deerfield, Illinois, a northern Chicago suburb, did not respond to an Associated Press email seeking comment. But earlier this week, the company said in a statement that the company plans to distribute the drug, called mifepristone, “in every jurisdiction where it is legally permitted to do so.”
“Providing legally approved medicines to patients is what pharmacies do and is rooted in our commitment to the communities in which we operate,” said a statement published on the company’s website.
Mifepristone is a pill used in combination with another pill to terminate pregnancy. The US Food and Drug Administration approved the pill in 2000 for use up to the 10th week of pregnancy. Today, more than half of all abortions in the US are performed with pills, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that advocates for abortion rights.
After the US Supreme Court overturned federal abortion law last year, more than a dozen states have restricted the use of abortion pills. However, these restrictions are challenged in court.
Attorneys general in 20 states, mostly with Republican governors, have warned Walgreens and CVS that they could face legal consequences if they sell abortion pills in their states. Last week, Walgreens confirmed it had sent a response to each attorney general saying it would not be distributing the drug in their states.
Newsom replied to this message on Monday, posting in a Message on Twitter that California will not do business with Walgreens “or any company that ducks extremists and puts women’s lives at risk.”
“We’re done,” Newsom said.
The loss of the California contract will have a small impact on Walgreens’ earnings as the company reported revenue of $132.7 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31.
But for Newsom, the move is more about cementing California’s role as a leader in what he calls “reproductive freedom.”
Newsom has vowed to make California a haven for people in other states where abortion is illegal or severely restricted. Last year, Newsom signed more than a dozen new laws protecting abortion rights, including signing new $20 million spending to cover travel and housing costs for people coming to California from other states to have an abortion to have an abortion.
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