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#BoycottWalgreens grows after pharmacy refuses to sell abortion pill in 20 states

Caving to pressure from several Republican states, Walgreens announced it won't sell abortion medication. Backlash is spreading.

Meera Navlakha

on March 6, 2023

A Walgreens sign on the exterior of a building against a bright blue sky.

Credit: Luke Sharrett / Getty Images

People are calling to #BoycottWalgreens after the pharmacy giant announced it will no longer sell abortion medication mifepristone in 20 Republican states — including some where abortion is still legal.

The move comes after heightened pressure from Republican state attorneys general, who sent a letter to the company in February, threatening legal action if Walgreens continued to distribute the medication. The letter was co-signed by attorneys general from states including Texas, Alabama, Indiana, Kansas, West Virginia, North Dakota, and South Carolina. In some of these states, abortion remains legal, including Alaska, Florida, Iowa, and Montana.

In January, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved mifepristone, the first of two pills to be taken for a medical abortion, to be distributed at retail pharmacies in states where abortion remains legal.

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Referencing the reversal of Roe v Wade, the letter was sent not only to Walgreens but to CVS, Rite Aid, Costco, Walmart, Kroger, and Albertsons. Walgreens caved, telling Politico that it had responded to the signees, assuring them that the pharmacy will not dispense the pill by mail or in stores located in these states.

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Since Walgreen's decision, people are calling for a boycott of the company.

Both "Walgreens" and "#BoycottWalgreens" trended on Twitter on Friday, continuing to gain traction throughout the weekend. Responses to Politico reporter Alice Miranda Ollstein's tweet also included such calls: "I will not shop at Walgreens until they reverse this decision" and "I will no longer be spending any money at Walgreens."

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Many users called for people to cancel their Walgreens accounts, while some displayed receipts of them doing so. People criticized the pharmacy for giving into fear tactics from anti-abortion politicians.

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Abortion pills accounted for more than half of all U.S. abortions in 2020. This commonly used method of abortion has been deemed safe and effective, according to sexual health research organization Guttmacher Institute. Access to abortion pills is currently legal in 37 states, though it must be prescribed by a doctor in 15 states.

Walgreens, alongside its competitor CVS, said it is applying for certification to dispense the abortion pill following the FDA's announcement. However, Walgreens' decision to stop distributing the pill in nearly half a dozen states, however, is more than disheartening — and comes amid a nationwide fight to preserve reproductive justice.

Topics Activism Politics

Meera Navlakha

Meera is a journalist based between London and New York. Her work has been published in The New York Times, Vice, The Independent, Vogue India, W Magazine, and others. She was previously a Culture Reporter at Mashable.