Prime New York officers demanded the nation’s main pharmacy chains reveal their plans about making the abortion capsule mifepristone accessible within the state.
In a letter signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul and state Legal professional Common Letitia James, the Democrats requested Walgreens, CVS Well being and Ceremony Assist to reply in writing inside 10 enterprise days about their dedication to dispense mifepristone at pharmacies and through mail within the state, Reuters reported.
“Pharmacies are the brand new battleground within the struggle for abortion rights,” Gov. Hochul tweeted on Friday. “In New York, your reproductive rights will all the time be protected.”
The letter, despatched Thursday, comes after Walgreens’ mentioned final week it might not distribute abortion drugs in some Republican states. The choice was slammed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom and filmmaker Michael Moore, with Newsom tweeting on March 6 that California won’t be doing enterprise with Walgreens.
In a follow-up assertion on March 6, nonetheless, Walgreens mentioned “We need to be very clear about what our place has all the time been: Walgreens plans to dispense Mifepristone in any jurisdiction the place it’s legally permissible to take action.”
The corporate reiterated its coverage because it pertains to New York when reached by The Put up on Friday,
Ceremony Assist and CVS Well being didn’t instantly reply to The Put up’s requests for remark.
Remedy abortion, which accounts for greater than half of US abortions, has drawn rising consideration because the Supreme Courtroom final yr overturned the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that had acknowledged abortion as a constitutional proper nationwide.
Final month, 20 Republican state attorneys normal wrote to Walgreens threatening authorized penalties if Walgreens supplies mifepristone to shoppers of their pharmacies throughout the nation, Fox Information reported.
New York has taken proactive steps to guard entry to in-clinic care, together with a $35 million funding to assist abortion suppliers, the state officers mentioned in a press release that accompanied the letter.
With Put up wires