California Govt. Gavin Newsom successfully repelled a recall effort in California last year. Asked if he was preparing to run for president, Newsom insisted that he was not.
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California Govt. Gavin Newsom said Monday the state would no longer do business with WalgreensWhen the drugstore chain told 21 Republican attorneys general it would not sell the abortion pill in their states.
Newsom said on Twitter that the state is doing business with Walgreens. Brandon Richards, a spokesman for the governor, said California is reviewing all relationships between Walgreens and the state.
“We will not do business with companies that bow to right-wing threats to advance their extremist agenda, or companies that put politics above the health of women and girls,” Richards said.
Walgreens said it plans to sell mifepristone “in any jurisdiction where it is legally permitted to do so,” according to a statement. “Once we are certified by the FDA, we will begin distributing this drug in line with federal and state laws,” the company said.
In January the Food and Drug Administration allowed retail pharmacies to sell the abortion pill, mifepristone, if they are certified under an agency program that oversees the use and distribution of the drug.
Walgreens plans to become certified to sell mifepristone where it is legal to do so under state and federal law, the company said, in February, 21 Republican Attorneys General Walgreens warned against mailing mifepristone to your states.
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The company told the attorney general that it would not sell or mail the tablet in its states. Politico first reported the news.
Mifepristone, used in combination with another drug called misoprostol, is the most common way to end a pregnancy in the US, accounting for about half of all abortions.
Mifepristone has become a central focus in the fight over abortion access in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision last June overturning Roe v. Wade.
A group of physicians opposed to abortion has appealed to a Texas federal court toPostpone FDA approval of mifepristone. On the other hand the Democratic attorney general has told a federal court in Washington Declare the remaining FDA ban on mifepristone unconstitutional.
The FDA approved mifepristone more than two decades ago, but the agency put restrictions in place to ensure safe use of the pill. The agency has gradually eased those restrictions over the years as more evidence has emerged on its safety and efficacy.
The agency eliminated the requirement that patients receive the pill in person at certain health care facilities and allowed the drug to be mailed. Patients still need a prescription from a health care provider that is FDA certified.