California to cut ties with Walgreen over abortion pills, Gov. Newsom says

The governor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Newsom told Reuters that “all relationships” between Walgreens and California were now under review, without providing further details.

The Washington Post reported that Walgreens had committed to not selling the drug in 20 states following legal threats by Republican state leaders last month. These included Alaska, Iowa, Kansas and Montana, where abortion medication can be accessed, according to the sexual rights research group Guttmacher Institute, though those rules are being tightened.

However, a March 6 statement from Walgreens is at odds with that correspondence to GOP leaders. In it, the company specifies that it “plans to dispense Mifepristone in any jurisdiction where it is legally permissible to do so.”

“Once we are certified by the FDA, we will dispense this medication consistent with federal and state laws,” the statement said, referring to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The chain currently does not sell mifepristone anywhere as it is still seeking certification.

A Walgreens spokesperson did not respond to a query about the discrepancy, and declined to comment on Newsom’s tweet.

Drugstore companies have been pulled into the battle over abortion rights playing out in the United States since the FDA’s January decision to allow brick-and-mortar stores to dispense abortion pills that were previously only available from doctors or by mail.

But conservative groups have targeted not just the sale of mifepristone, but even the decades-old approval of the drug by the FDA. A federal judge in Texas is expected to rule soon on a suit seeking to revoke the approval of its use — a decision that is likely to be most consequential ruling on abortion since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June last year.

Mifepristone is the first pill used in the two-drug regimen for medication abortions, which now account for more than 50 percent of pregnancy terminations in the United States.