Should We Boycott Walgreens?

Should we boycott Walgreens? Why is Walgreens currently under fire? Recently Walgreens declared they will stop selling and delivering abortion pills in GOP states. The recent devastating overturn of the court case Roe v. Wade left healthcare options in many states and for many people in shambles. Roe v. Wade had ensured women’s rights to access an abortion. With this law no longer in effect, women are unable to assume they are safe if they get pregnant.

This just shows that as a society we are regressing and going back in history. On International Women’s Day, annually celebrated on March 8 across the globe,  the United Nations made an official announcement stating that women are 300 years from achieving gender equality. This statistic is upsetting, especially for all the women around the world that have been working on making a difference. One major reason for such a setback in history is the overturn of Roe v. Wade. 

Women should have equal rights, and it is important to have Roe v. Wade in place to allow women the right to choose an abortion. Walgreens has taken matters into their own hands and decided to not sell the abortion pill in states where Roe v. Wade has been overturned, and even in some states where Roe v. Wade or the right to an abortion is still in place. These states include:  Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia.

The abortion pill is two different medicines, mifepristone and misoprostol. Mifepristone is the first one to take, stopping the growth of the pregnancy, then between the consumption of the first medicine and 48 hours, the misoprostol is taken which will completely empty out the uterus.

“The Walgreens decision stems from a letter written by nearly two dozen Republican state attorneys general at the beginning of February that threatened legal action if the company began distributing mifepristone in their states.” (Gliadkovskaya)

According to FierceHealthcare, the letter sent to Walgreens instructed them to stop their delivery of the abortion pill because of risk associated with this medication and the laws in place banning the sale of this medication. Many have said by halting the sale of the abortion medication that Walgreens has shown their intent in the fight against abortion and they “stand with anti-abortion extremists against the rights of women.” 

Medicated abortions are known to have a low risk factor and have been approved by the FDA since 2000 for use up to 10 weeks of pregnancy. In fact, it is more dangerous for some women to follow through with a pregnancy than to use the abortion pill. The GOP states that have written to Walgreens stretched the truth when they wrote suggesting that the abortion pill is a health risk, exposing their desperation to further politicize the issue. The GOP exaggerated any health risk to induce a billion dollar company to stop their sales of a pill created to help people. 

California strongly disagrees with the republican states and Walgreens actions to the extent that they have suspended a 54 million dollar contract with Walgreens, saying they will not stand with the company’s fight against abortion. Walgreens may be conforming to the anti-abortion stance that was forced upon them by these GOP states, but do they have a choice?

On multiple occasions Walgreens pharmacists have refused to refill, or sell certain medications to customers that related to abortions, such as the Morning-after pill, Birth Control, and others, due to “religious beliefs”. These pharmacists made snap judgments about people, and then refused to give them the medicine they required.

These states are now going after other pharmacies like CVS, claiming they will take legal action if caught selling anything that can provide abortion services. Walgreens currently doesn’t sell the abortion pill regimen anywhere because they have to get re-certified by the FDA. They say they will continue to sell the abortion pill in states where abortion is legal, but how far are they willing to go? How far are the GOP states that came after Walgreens, and the states that will continue to go after pharmacies, willing to go? And how will consumers respond? The hashtag #boycottwalgreens is gaining momentum on Twitter.

Is Walgreens really at fault? The federal law is affecting corporate policy with their laws against abortion, but it has also been said they have a history of refusing abortion medication to customers. So, is Walgreens really anti-abortion, or are they just following the law?