FDA clears abortion pill to be sold at pharmacies
Fox News medical contributor Dr. Nicole Saphier on mifepristone-induced abortions and new clearance that would allow the drug to be sold at pharmacies.
Filmmaker Michael Moore has called for a nationwide boycott of Walgreens after the pharmacy chain announced it would not sell abortion pills in 20 states.
In February, 20 Republican state attorneys general wrote to Walgreens Corp. threatening legal action if Walgreens provides the abortion pill, mifepristone, to consumers in their pharmacies across the U.S.
On Thursday, Walgreens shifted its plan, sharing that it will not dispense mifepristone in their states and is not planning to ship the drug to consumers either.
Following the announcement, Moore, on his website, urged readers to boycott Walgreens, characterizing them as a pharmacy chain that "stands with anti-abortion extremists against the rights of women."
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Michael Moore has called for a national boycott against Walgreens after the pharmacy chain said they will not distribute abortion pills in states where Republican official have threatened legal action. (Reuters/Shannon Stapleton/Andrew Kelly)
"This decision by Walgreens to further cement women's status as second-class citizens must be met forcefully by each and every one of us. Every day of our silence since last Thursday is another day of you and I enabling this bigotry and misogyny," Moore wrote. "Please join with me and others in a NATIONWIDE BOYCOTT OF WALGREENS. They must reverse their decision immediately."
The boycott included pictures of the letters sent by state attorneys general to Walgreens, as well as CVS, Rite Aid, Walmart, Costco and Kroger. Moore claimed their "aggressive tactics" were based on the Comstock Act of 1873, which outlawed sending "obscene items" through the mail.
"Yes, preventing pregnancy was considered 'obscene!' Because anything that gives women even a smidgen of control in their lives was clearly obscene," Moore added. "It was illegal for them to own property, to have their own bank account, to get a loan — and, god forbid, to decide if they wanted to be pregnant or not! Obscene!!"
Moore concluded his boycott call by urging his audience to make their voice heard and contact local reproductive rights groups.
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Michael Moore speaks to thousands of people at an anti-Trump rally in front of the Trump International Hotel in New York on Jan. 19, 2017. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens, File)
"Let Walgreens know you have stopped shopping there. Let the other pharmaceutical chains know you'll do the same to them if they follow Walgreens' lead. Picket your local Walgreens. Tell the White House to stand strong, and let your members of Congress know this is one of your top issues in deciding how you will vote next year," Moore said.
Moore also slammed the Supreme Court for their decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, calling the ruling a "legal whipping of women" and asserting that the Justices based their opinion on the "authoritarian religion" of Christianity.
"This Court's actions have solidified their role as our Taliban, our Church of England, our Spanish Inquisition. We are now forced to fight our way out of this religious ruling where the majority gender in a democracy must shut the eff up and make that fertilized egg into a baby — or else," he said.
Concluding his boycott announcement, Moore included the mailing address for Walgreens consumer relations and added a phone number for people to contact their local representatives.
"Boycott. March. Picket. Civilly disobey. Write Postcards. Make Calls. Donate. BE RELENTLESS!" Moore added.
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Attorneys general in 12 Democratic-led states sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, challenging their restrictions on the distribution of mifepristone, an abortion pill, alleging that they aren't supported by evidence. (Reuters)
The drugstore chain's announcement Thursday signals that access to mifepristone may not expand as broadly as federal regulators intended in January when they finalized a rule change allowing more pharmacies to provide the pill.
However, Walgreens is working to become eligible through the FDA's certification process.
The company is not currently dispensing the pills anywhere.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved mifepristone in 2000 to end pregnancy, when used in combination with a second drug, misoprostol. The combination is approved for use up to the 10th week of pregnancy.
Mifepristone is taken first to dilate the cervix and block a hormone needed to sustain a pregnancy. Misoprostol is taken a day or two later, causing contractions to empty the uterus.
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FOX Business’ Sarah Rumpf contributed to this report.