CVS and Walgreens, the two largest U.S. pharmacy chains, will start selling abortion pill mifepristone at their stores in several states this month, drawing praise from President Joe Biden, who encouraged all pharmacies to follow suit.
The announcement Friday comes as a legal challenge to the pill, brought in Texas by anti-abortion groups and doctors, was due to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court this month. The court ended its recognition of a constitutional right to abortion in 2022 when it overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade precedent.
Biden called the decision a milestone in ensuring access to mifepristone and encouraged interested pharmacies to seek certification to dispense the drugs.
"The stakes could not be higher for women across America, Biden said in a statement that cited "relentless attacks on reproductive freedom by Republican elected officials."
The companies said last year they planned to offer the pill following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) decision to allow retail pharmacies to sell mifepristone in the country for the first time.
Walgreens expects to begin dispensing the pills within a week.
"We will begin dispensing the pill in select locations in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California, and Illinois," Walgreens said on Friday.
CVS will begin filling prescriptions for the medication in Massachusetts and Rhode Island in the weeks ahead and expand to additional states, where allowed by law, on a rolling basis.
The New York Times first reported the news on Friday.
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