Walgreens was the first pharmacy to announce it would sell the pills, and it was soon followed by CVS and Rite Aid. That prompted Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach to write a letter reminding them of the Sunflower State's laws.
"The attorney general made it clear that Walgreens would be in violation of existing Kansas law if it moved forward with its announced intentions to provide that chemical cocktail at our neighborhood pharmacies," says Danielle Underwood of Kansans for Life. "Kansas has an in-person doctor requirement currently on the books to protect women from known dangers of the chemical abortion pill."
In response, Walgreens has announced that it will neither dispense Mifepristone nor mail chemical abortion drugs into Kansas.
In its letter back to Kobach, Walgreens states that while it intends to become a certified pharmacy under the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) program, "the company has made clear that it would do so consistent with all applicable laws and as a result would not be able to dispense Mifepristone in all locations."
"Additionally, Walgreens has not made any representations about using our mail-order pharmacy business to dispense this drug," the letter states.
Now Kansas is waiting for a response from the other pharmacies.
"We are calling on CVS and all the other pharmacies that have said that they are also interested in providing the abortion pill across their counters at their pharmacies to commit to protect the health and safety of women who would be endangered by the lack of monitoring of these deadly chemicals," Underwood says.
Other states where the abortion pills are illegal are also waiting to see if the pharmacies will comply with state and federal prohibitions.
