By Chloe Atkins and Minyvonne Burke —
NBC News
Walgreens will not sell abortion pills at its pharmacies in several Red states where abortion is legal, the company announced Thursday, after 20 attorneys general sent it a letter saying it could face legal consequences if it sold the drugs.
“We stress that it is our responsibility to enforce the law and protect the health, safety, and well-being of women and unborn children in our states,” read the February 1 letter signed by attorneys general from states where abortion is legal. , in some, and illegal in others.
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Walgreens said it responded to each attorney general and said it would not sell abortion pills — by mail order or in its stores — in those states.
Among them are some where abortion is illegal, such as Kentucky, Mississippi, South Dakota, Texas, and West Virginia.
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But Walgreens also said it won't
sell the pills in states where abortion remains legal, such as Alaska, Florida, Iowa and Montana.
“This is a very complex and changing legal environment, and we are taking that into account when we get certified to dispense mifepristone,” said Fraser Engerman, director of external relations for Walgreens, referring to the drug that can terminate a pregnancy of less than 10 weeks.
"At this time
we do not dispense mifepristone
," he added, "we intend to become a certified pharmacy under the program, but we will only dispense in those jurisdictions where it is legal to do so if we are certified."
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Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who signed the February letter, said in a statement on Facebook on Wednesday that he wants to make sure "that pharmacies are not subverting state and federal statute to mail abortion pills." .
Medical abortion accounted for more than half of all abortions in the United States in 2020, according to the Guttmacher Institute, an organization that advocates for abortion access.
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Access to abortion pills is currently legal in some form in 37 states.
Medical abortion is allowed in 22 states, but in 15 it must be prescribed by a doctor, not other clinicians, according to the Guttmacher Institute.
The group also sent letters to CVS, Rite Aid, Albertsons, Costco, Kroger and Walmart.
These companies did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
