AmerisourceBergen will continue to provide access to the abortion pill mifepristone to all 50 US states, despite reports to the contrary.
The Pennsylvania firm is the sole distributor of the drug, which makes up half of the cocktail needed for a drug-induced abortion.
The company plans to supply it to pharmacy giant Walgreens, which last week promised 21 Republican-led states it would not provide the pills after pressure from GOP officials. Walgreens does not currently dispense mifepristone anywhere.
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is at the center of a groundbreaking abortion rights case as anti-abortion activists hope to see regulatory approval withdrawn – effectively banning it nationwide.
Despite another message on Wednesday, the AmerisourceBergen confirmed to DailyMail.com that it will not pull the pill from the reported states.
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
DailyMail.com initially reached out to the company for comment at 11:48 a.m. EST through its online portal.
It replied to the comment at 3:38 p.m. EST and said, “We have and will continue to make Mifeprex available to eligible medical providers in all 50 states, and with the FDA’s January 2023 decision to allow retail pharmacies to to dispense Mifeprex, so are we. distribute to certified healthcare stores in states where it is legal.
“AmerisourceBergen makes no clinical decisions or value-based judgments about which FDA-approved products are distributed.”
When asked if a message from Vox Media that it would no longer distribute the pills in 31 states was incorrect, it said, “Yes, the information Vox reported in January is both out of date and inaccurate.”
“We deliberately (and legally) do not go into details about which customers we do or do not ship to and prefer the language in our statement.”
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 it would not distribute the drug in 21 states, angering abortion lawyers.
GOP state attorneys general sent letters to CVS, Rite Aid, Albertsons, Costco, Kroger and Walmart, pressuring 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 training protocols and updates for our pharmacists.”
Walgreens also 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 the pregnancy tissue to bleed and expel.
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.
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