A Walgreens pharmacy is pictured on Jan. 5 in New York City. Walgreens says it will not promote mifepristone in states the place Republican attorneys normal threatened authorized motion.

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Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

A Walgreens pharmacy is pictured on Jan. 5 in New York City. Walgreens says it will not promote mifepristone in states the place Republican attorneys normal threatened authorized motion.

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Walgreens will not distribute abortion drugs in states the place Republican officers have threatened authorized motion — together with some locations the place abortion continues to be authorized and accessible. The pharmacy chain mentioned in an announcement to NPR on Friday that it is nonetheless taking steps to promote the drug in “jurisdictions the place it’s authorized and operationally possible.”

The affirmation got here a month after 20 Republican state attorneys normal, largely from states the place abortion is banned or closely restricted, despatched letters threatening Walgreens and different pharmacies with authorized motion in the event that they disbursed mifepristone, an abortion tablet.

The Food and Drug Administration finalized a brand new rule in January permitting retail pharmacies to get licensed to distribute the drug, and firms together with Walgreens and CVS mentioned they’re making use of for certification. Medication abortion — not surgical procedure — is the most typical means that individuals terminate pregnancies, particularly within the first trimester, when most abortions happen.

“At this time, we’re working by means of the certification course of” and never but distributing the drug anyplace, Walgreens mentioned in a letter to Kansas’ lawyer normal final month. “Walgreens doesn’t intend to dispense Mifepristone inside your state.”

The firm mentioned in an announcement to NPR that it has responded to all the attorneys normal to guarantee them it will not distribute mifepristone of their states.

Mifepristone — which is additionally used to ease miscarriages — continues to be allowed in among the states the place Walgreens will not promote it, together with Alaska, Iowa, Kansas and Montana. The state of affairs underscores how difficult it may be to acquire an abortion even in states the place it stays authorized.

The different pharmacy chains to which Republican attorneys normal despatched their letters — together with CVS, Costco, Walmart, Rite Aid, Albertsons and Kroger — didn’t instantly reply to NPR’s request for remark about whether or not they’re contemplating following go well with.

For greater than 20 years, solely specialty places of work and clinics may distribute mifepristone. An FDA resolution in December 2021 completely allowed docs to prescribe mifepristone by way of telehealth appointments and ship the drug by means of the mail.

An ongoing case earlier than a Trump-appointed federal choose in Texas seeks to challenge the FDA’s authentic approval of mifepristone altogether.