California is pulling the renewal of a multibillion-dollar contract with Walgreens, following the company's preemptive decision not to dispense the abortion drug Mifepristone in 21 states, including those where abortion remains legal.
On Monday, the governor Gavin Newsom called for a review of all contracts between the state and Walgreens, and the renewal cancellation announcement is the result of that action.
"California will not stand idly by as corporations give in to extremists and cut off critical access to care and reproductive freedom," Newsom said.
The official added that California is on its way to becoming the fourth largest economy in the world and will harness market power to defend the right to choose.
The contract between the California Department of General Services ?DGS? and Walgreens allows the state to purchase specialty pharmacy prescription drugs, used primarily by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation ?CDCR? and its correctional health care system.
On Wednesday, by order of Governor Newsom, DGS gave formal notice that it will withdraw a planned renewal of that agreement effective May 1, 2023, and will instead explore other options to provide the same services.
Under that contract, Walgreens has received about $54 million from the state of California.
Mifepristone, is one of the two drugs used for abortions with abortion pills and was approved by the Food and Drug Administration?FDA, for its acronym in English? more than 20 years ago.
The drug has been used by more than 5 million people in the United States to safely end early pregnancies, along with another medication called misoprostol, according to Planned Parenthood.
And it is that, attacks against access to abortion continue throughout the United States, and it is expected that a federal judge in Texas will rule in favor of organizations that oppose abortion to force the FDA to end the authorization of the mifepristone.
Thus, the ruling would mean that people would no longer be able to access mifepristone. In addition, it would not only apply to people in Texas but in all states of the country.
"This lawsuit is not really about the safety of mifepristone, but about an attack on people's right to decide over their own bodies and lives, which will affect many people across the country," the organization said in a statement. .
The court ruling, called Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA, will not end medical abortion, but will ban one of the two drugs used.
Currently, in states where abortion is legal, medical abortions remain a safe and effective way to terminate an early pregnancy.
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