A group of Republican attorneys general have warned CVS and Walgreens against mailing and distributing abortion pills — even though the Food and Drug Administration permits retail pharmacies to do so.
In a letter spearheaded by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey and co-signed by 19 other Republican AGs, the group writes that "many people are not aware that federal law expressly prohibits using the mail to send or receive any drug that will 'be used or applied for producing abortion.'"
The letter referenced the Comstock Act from 1873, which then prohibited individuals or companies from sending materials that could be construed as "pornographic" through the mail.
The Comstock law also contains language prohibiting the mailing of "any article or thing designed or intended for the prevention of conception or procuring of an abortion."
"Obviously, a federal criminal law — especially one that is, as here, enforceable through a private right of action — deserves serious contemplation," the attorneys general wrote.
In January, however, the U.S. Department of Justice wrote a memorandum opinion stating the Comstock Act does not prohibit the mailing of abortion pills in scenarios "where the sender lacks the intent that the recipient of the drugs will use them unlawfully."
The state AGs countered by saying the DOJ was wrong in its interpretation. "[T]he text, not the Biden administration's view, is what governs," the state AGs wrote.
Last week, supporters of abortion rights filed legal challenges to two states' abortion-pill restrictions. As Newsmax chronicled then, the lawsuits alleged that limits on the drugs in North Carolina and West Virginia undermine the FDA's authority.
In North Carolina, one physician who prescribes the pill, mifepristone, filed a lawsuit.
And the West Virginia suit involves the legalities of prescribing GenBioPro, a generic version of mifepristone.
The Republican attorneys general characterized abortion medications as "unsafe and illegal" in their letter.
In an email statement, Walgreens spokesperson Fraser Engerman said the pharmacy giant is "not dispensing mifepristone at this time. We intend to become a certified pharmacy under the program; however, we fully understand that we may not be able to dispense mifepristone in all locations if we are certified under the program."
According to Axios, at least 19 states have either banned or severely limited access to abortion pills via telemedicine.
In these states, prospective patients are encouraged to obtain medications from medical facilities in person.
Last summer, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade (by a 5-4 vote), which previously made abortion legal throughout the U.S. from 1973-2022.
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