Walgreens and CVS to begin dispensing lethal abortion pills

On January 3rd, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approved a regulatory change which allows retail pharmacies to now dispense the dangerous abortion drug regimen of Mifepristone and Misoprostol to customers with a prescription.

The abortion pill, Mifepristone (also known as RU-486), was first approved by the FDA in 2000. During that time, the drug was regulated under the REMS (Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy) protocol. This protocol is reserved for drugs that according to the FDA have “serious risks that may otherwise not be approved and available on the market.” ¹ and joins 56 other drugs of 20,000 approved prescription agents.²

The REMS protocol required women seeking abortions to be seen in person by a physician, provide proof of gestational age, rule out ectopic pregnancies, and provide informed consent to the risks of the abortion pill regimen.
However, the FDA’s regulatory change removed the requirement that a woman must obtain a prescription in person. During COVID this restriction was temporarily lifted but is now permanent.

Walgreens was the first pharmacy to indicate their intention to dispense the dangerous chemical concoction. A Walgreens spokesperson stated, “We are working through the registration, necessary training of our pharmacists, as well as evaluating our pharmacy network in terms of where we normally dispense products that have extra FDA requirements and will dispense these consistent with federal and state laws.”

This change puts women at great risk across our nation. It will be nearly impossible to prevent abortion pills from being illegally transported across state lines thus shattering any “safety” REMS may have provided for women.
When Vitae asked a Walgreens spokesperson if there were concerns about dispensing these pills without the oversight of an in-person physician and the potential abuse of abortion pills that would follow they responded with a boldly negligent and carless response, “Sorry we aren’t going to speculate.”

Conservative estimates say that over 50 percent of abortions are performed using abortion pills. Women are exceedingly deceived into believing that abortion is healthcare.

In our seventh Right Brain Research study, Saving Grace, we investigated the shortfalls of Planned Parenthood’s branding strategy, and where they failed to connect to consumers. We learned that women are highly concerned with their physical safety and security. Many respondents did not remember Planned parenthood staff spending much time explaining the risks of abortion. Additionally, respondents had a great fear of physical harm and damage to their bodies.

It is essential that we empower women with knowledge so they can protect themselves from the physical, emotional, and spiritual trauma inflicted on them by the act of abortion.

With that knowledge, women could demand accountability from the abortion industry. Women could demand safety from any business which claims to be healthcare. Instead, the abortion industry is not being held to the same standards as legitimate healthcare, yet is being counted as equal.

Together we can work together to make those same demands and empower women to advocate for true healthcare which doesn’t end in the loss of their child’s life and possibly their own.

¹ Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, “FAQs about Rems,” U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA, January 26, 2018), https://www.fda.gov/drugs/risk-evaluation-and-mitigation-strategies-rems/frequently-asked-questions-faqs-about-rems.
² The Risks of Chemical Abortion Pills: Episode 2, YouTube (Students For Life, 2021), The Risks of Chemical Abortion Pills: Episode 2