California 'is done' with Walgreens over abortion pill ban, says Gavin Newsom

California's governor pledged not to do business with Walgreens after the nation’s second-largest retail pharmacy barred selling abortion pills in 20 states that prohibit the procedure and the necessary medication for it. 

Gavin Newson announced the decision on Monday in a tweet that read, 'We're done,' following the company's decision last week.

The move comes after Walgreens received pressure from anti-abortion lawmakers not to carry the drug, Mifepristone, which makes up half of the combination used to induce an abortion. 

'California won't be doing business with @walgreens - or any company that cowers to the extremists and puts women's lives at risk,' Newsom tweeted. 

Gavin Newson announced the decision on Monday in a tweet that read, 'We're done,' following the company's decision last week

The move comes after Walgreens received pressure from anti-abortion lawmakers not to carry the drug Mifepristone, which makes up half of the combination used to induce an abortion

A spokesperson for Newsom added that the state is re-evaluating its relationship with the retail pharmacy.

'We will not pursue business with companies that cave to right wing bullies pushing their extremist agenda or companies that put politics above the health of women and girls,' Brandon Richards told CNBC. 

Newsom didn't offer further details of what his punishment for Walgreens would be. In some areas of the Golden State - including San Francisco - the drug store has already shut many of its branches and blamed soaring shoplifting as the cause. 

The move comes just a couple of months after the Biden Administration updated a regulation to allow Mifepristone, part of a two-drug cocktail to induce miscarriage, to be stocked and dispensed at pharmacies to pregnant women with a prescription.

GOP attorneys from these states sent letters to CVS, Rite Aid, Albertsons, Costco, Kroger and Walmart. 

In a response, Danielle Gray on Walgreens’ legal team said: ‘As you know, to become certified by the FDA, participating pharmacies must satisfy a range of safety and risk mitigation requirements to dispense this drug.

‘At this time, we are working through the certification process, which includes the evaluation of our pharmacy network to determine where we will dispense Mifepristone and training protocols and updates for our pharmacists.’

Mifepristone’s future is tenuous at best. A February lawsuit filed by anti-abortion activists in Texas is challenging the Food and Drug Administration's two-decade-old approval of the drug. 

The appointed judge for the case, Matthew Kacsmaryk, is a devout conservative and Donald Trump appointee. He is expected to side with the pro-life activists. 

Siding with the plaintiffs would significantly disrupt abortion access nationwide. It would affect access to an abortion even in states with no restrictions on the procedure.

It is likely that pro-choice advocates would appeal Kacsmaryk's ruling.

The FDA has loosened restrictions on abortion-inducing medication in recent years.

Medication-induced abortion has been a lifeline for women in blue states and even red states since the Supreme Court eliminated the federal guarantee to an abortion

The combination of drugs, Mifepristone and Misoprostol, became available at local pharmacies at the start of 2023.

Women can also be prescribed the pills via telemedicine and have it mailed to them by an out-of-state provider. 

Per the Justice Department, the U.S. Postal Service can legally deliver abortion pills to people in states where the procedure is banned or restricted, saying that federal law allows the mailing of the pills because there is no way for the sender to know for certain whether the recipient would use them illegally.

Medication abortion has become the most commonly used method for terminating a pregnancy. 

In 2020, the two-drug method accounted for 54 percent of all abortions in the US, up from roughly 44 percent in 2019. 

This is in part due to the rise of telemedicine and a general preference to stay away from doctors’ offices during the pandemic.

The legal landscape for abortion has been in near-constant flux since the Supreme Court issued a fatal blow to legal access to abortion in the June 2022 decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization.

Abortion-rights advocates in blue states as well as states with restrictions of abortion have been able to take solace in the fact that Mifepristone, a medication that has been proven safer than carrying a pregnancy to term, will always be available with the input of a doctor.

But the lawsuit in Texas, in addition to growing pressure from GOP attorneys - as displayed in this case - severely imperils access to the drug. 

For many women, the medication is their only option to terminate a pregnancy.