America’s ONLY distributor of controversial abortion pill will no longer supply it to 31 US states
America’s sole distributor of the abortion drug mifepristone could soon stop distribution to half of the US states.
Based just outside of Philadelphia, AmerisourceBergen sent clients a list of 31 states where it would no longer source the drug.
It is the only company in America that supplies the drug. This means the decision will have major implications for access to abortion in affected states.
The company supplies mifepristone to pharmacy giant Walgreens, which last week promised 21 Republican-led states it would not provide the pills. It’s unclear how much AmerisourceBergen’s decision affected Walgreens.
It comes as mifepristone is at the center of a groundbreaking abortion rights case, as anti-abortion activists hope to see regulatory approval withdrawn — effectively banning it nationwide.
Medication-induced abortion has been a lifeline for women in blue states and even red states since the Supreme Court lifted the federal guarantee for abortion
More than a dozen states have restricted access to abortions after the overthrow of Roe V Wade
Company told Vox media the situation is ‘dynamic’ and ‘evolving’.
Mifepristone makes up half of the combination used to induce drug abortion.
When used in combination with misoprostol, the anti-ulcer drug, it has been shown to be safe and effective in terminating a pregnancy in the first 10 weeks.
Drug-induced abortions make up the bulk of abortions performed following the Supreme Court’s decision to revoke federal protection for the procedure last summer.
In early 2023, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) ruled that drugstores are allowed to fill prescriptions for the pills.
Since then, CVS and Walgreens — one of America’s two largest pharmacy chains — have both unveiled plans to release the drugs after clearing regulatory hurdles.
Walgreens, which has nearly 9,000 stores in the US, announced last week it would no longer distribute the drug in 21 states, a move that angered abortion advocates.
GOP attorneys from the states sent letters to CVS, Rite Aid, Albertsons, Costco, Kroger and Walmart to pressure them to take such a step.
In response, Danielle Gray of Walgreens’ legal team said, “As you know, in order to become certified by the FDA, participating pharmacies must meet a series of safety and risk mitigation requirements to dispense this drug.
“We are currently working on the certification process, including the evaluation of our pharmacy network to determine where we will dispense Mifepristone and on training protocols and updates for our pharmacists.”
It’s unclear whether this same pressure also fueled AmerisourceBergen’s decision, or what communications the company has had with GOP officials.
Whether the list of 31 states not getting the pills still stands is unclear.
The distributor did not respond to a DailyMail.com request for comment.
Walgreens, meanwhile, reaffirmed to DailyMail.com that it would provide mifepristone in all states where abortion is legal once it becomes certified to do so under FDA requirements.
Previously, due to safety concerns, mifepristone could only be dispensed in person by a physician in a subset of specialty offices and clinics.
Despite extensive legal access to mifepristone, a controversial lawsuit in Texas is currently threatening its availability in the US.
Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas is expected to decide at any time whether or not mifepristone, the first part of a two-pill drug regimen, will lose FDA approval.
Mifepristone is taken first and works by dilating the cervix and blocking the effects of the hormone progesterone, which is needed to maintain a pregnancy.
About 24 hours later, the patient takes misoprostol, a drug used to treat stomach ulcers that causes the uterus to contract and contract, causing bleeding and expelling the pregnancy tissue.
Judge Kacsmaryk, an appointee of former President Donald Trump who has closely aligned himself with far-right ideology.
The case in question is the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. the US FDA, which was first filed late last year to challenge the FDA’s 2000 approval of Mifeprex.
It was filed by the anti-abortion group Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).
The group claims the drug was not properly checked for safety when it was approved 23 years ago.
The ADF also argues that the drug’s approval is nullified by the Comstock Act of 1873, which prohibits the sale of immoral or indecent products through the mail.
They argue that the law should make it illegal to send the drug through the mail, and the FDA’s approval to do so should be scrapped.
An attempt to withdraw FDA approval would almost certainly be immediately challenged by abortion rights activists.
However, the Fifth Circuit appeals court that would weigh the case is also deeply politically conservative.