United States – The two largest drugstore chains in the United States, CVS Health and Walgreen Boots Alliance, plan to distribute an abortion drug in a few states within 2 to 3 weeks after the decision by the US FDA.
Concerning the medication mifepristone, CVS Health will be filling prescriptions at both its Rhode Island and neighboring Massachusetts location by this summertime, a company’s spokeswoman, Amy Thibault, stated on Friday.
Hopeful of dispensing the medication within a week, Fraser Engerman, the company’s spokesman, said. The first step of the chain includes opening some stores in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California, and Illinois, as reported by the Associated Press.
He said the company was starting “in select locations to allow us to ensure quality, safety, and privacy for our patients, providers, and team members.” Thibault said CVS Health will add states “where allowed by law, on a rolling basis.”
Key Players in Reproductive Health Access
CVS Health Corp., which has over 9,400 pharmacies throughout the country and is the largest drugstore chain in the country, operates them. The US duly holds the Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., which has approximately 8,700 main locations.
The announcement made by the agencies on Friday was “an important milestone” in mifepristone access, according to the statement made by Mr. Biden. He remarked that many would be able to take their prescriptions at a family or certified pharmacy that is conveniently accessible from their home like they would any other drugs.
“I encourage all pharmacies that want to pursue this option to seek certification,” he said.
Regulatory Shifts and Historical Context
CVS and Walgreens made these moves more than one year after the US Food and Drug Administration finalized the new regulations, which paved the way for the penetration of reproductive health services in large pharmacies and mail-order companies.’
In 2000, the FDA sanctioned mifepristone to be used together with a second drug, named misoprostol, for nonsurgical abortion of pregnancy that lasts for ten weeks.
Mechanism of Mifepristone
The taken mifepristone has the first function to relax the cervix and prevent the proliferation of progesterone, which is the main hormone that keeps a pregnant woman by-product. Misoprostol is to be taken in 1-2 days post the mifepristone, which will induce the uterus to contract and abort the pregnancy tissue.
For more than 20 years, the FDA itself banned the dispensing of the drug outside the subset of specialty offices and clinics due to safety arguments, as reported by the Associated Press.
The US Supreme Court is deliberating on the request from conservative organizations who are pushing for mifepristone’s de-certification or more restrictive regulations that are more burdensome for abortion-seeking women.