Congressman Dan Goldman, Congresswoman Judy Chu Again Urge Pharmacies to Obtain Certification to Distribute Medication Abortion Following Supreme Court Decision

Congressman Goldman, Congresswoman Chu Again Lead Colleagues in Writing to Pharmacies Following Supreme Court Decision Rejecting Extremist Legal Challenge to Medication Abortion

Latest Letter Echoes Their June 2023 Push for Pharmacies to Begin Process of Distributing Mifepristone

Many Large Retail Pharmacies Have Yet to Commit to Certification in States Where the Medication is Legal

Read the Letter Here

Washington, DC – Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) and Congresswoman Judy Chu (CA-28) today led 54 members of Congress in pressing Walmart, Safeway, Kroger, Costco, and Healthmart to undergo the certification process to dispense the medication abortion drug, Mifepristone. In January of last year, the FDA created a pathway for patients with certified prescriptions to obtain mifepristone through a certified retail pharmacy. After 18 months, these pharmacies have refused to say whether or not they have begun the process to obtain certification to dispense mifepristone in states where it remains legal and have not indicated that they plan to seek certification to dispense the drug. Their refusal to commit to certification comes despite Congressmembers Goldman and Chu making similar calls in June of last year, and the Supreme Court’s recent case upholding the legal status of the medication abortion drug.

The members have urged the pharmacies to immediately provide them with their plan to become a certified pharmacy dispenser of mifepristone.

“We write to follow up on our letter dated June 2023 in which we similarly asked your companies to provide us with your plan to receive certification to dispense mifepristone and support access to medication abortion,” the members wrote. “We are disappointed that you have not publicly pursued certification for the past year. While we understand the status of pharmacy mifepristone prescribing has been up in the air over the last year, now that the Supreme Court has ruled on AHM’s claims and the status of mifepristone availability is unchanged, we urge you to promptly outline the steps you must take to begin the certification process so that your customers can have mifepristone readily available in states where it remains legal.”

Last month, the Supreme Court rejected the Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine case seeking to roll back access to mifepristone, asserting that the doctors and medical groups challenging the FDA’s expansion lacked standing to sue. The case preserved the present legal status of the medication abortion drug.

“Additionally, this lack of action to certify is misaligned with your publicly stated values in support of equal access to health care and in support of gender equality,” the members continued. “In light of escalating attacks on bodily autonomy and on people’s freedom to make their own health care decisions, your companies have a social responsibility to consumers and communities to address this issue as soon as possible. Families and communities rely on your pharmacies to provide them with life-saving, timely medications. Mifepristone is currently used in most abortions in this country and it is an increasingly desired option. Your customers should be able to decide which method of care is best for them, but they can only do so if they are able to access it.”

“Therefore, we once again request that you provide us with a clear answer about whether and when you will seek authorization to become a certified pharmacy dispenser of mifepristone. We strongly urge you to consider policies that facilitate access to essential and time-sensitive reproductive health care services, including medication abortion, which are clear to your consumers and to your pharmacy employees.”

“Please ensure that your company responds to us in writing to confirm whether and when you plan to support access to mifepristone through the certification process. We look forward to hearing from you by July 12, 2024,” the members concluded.

Congressman Goldman has made expanding access to reproductive healthcare and medication abortion a centerpiece of his first term in office.

In June, the Congressman co-sponsored the ‘Abortion Justice Act,’ which would mandate insurance coverage for abortion services and ensure that patients and doctors are not criminalized for providing or receiving abortion care.

In January of this year, Goldman joined 262 members of Congress in submitting an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to protect access to the medication abortion in the FDA v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine case threatening access to mifepristone nationwide.

Last September, Goldman joined the ‘Protecting Access to Medication Abortion Act,’ which would protect the right to obtain medication abortion through telehealth and certified pharmacies—which include mail-order pharmacies.

Read the letter here and below:

Dear Mr. McMillon, Mr. Gutermuth, Mr. McMullen, Mr. Jelinek, Mr. Farah, and Mr. Tyler:

We once again write to strongly urge you to take the steps necessary to begin dispensing mifepristone as soon as possible. As you know, on June 13, 2024, in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (AHM) v. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that a group of anti-abortion physicians does not have standing to challenge the FDA’s actions related to the approval of mifepristone.

We write to follow up on our letter dated June 2023 in which we similarly asked your companies to provide us with your plan to receive certification to dispense mifepristone and support access to medication abortion. We are disappointed that you have not publicly pursued certification for the past year. While we understand the status of pharmacy mifepristone prescribing has been up in the air over the last year, now that the Supreme Court has ruled on AHM’s claims and the status of mifepristone availability is unchanged, we urge you to begin the certification process so that your customers can have mifepristone readily available in states where it remains legal.

Over the past two decades, an abundance of evidence has unequivocally established that medication abortion is safe and effective. On September 28, 2000, the FDA approved mifepristone as one of the medications that can be used in medication abortion care. Since then, more than five million patients have safely used it as the first of two pills in their medication abortion care. To that end, medication abortion now accounts for 63% of all abortions in the health care system. This is an increase from 2020, when medication abortions accounted for 53% of all abortions. Further still, with a safety record of over 99%, mifepristone is safer than Tylenol. Despite ongoing, baseless attacks from anti-abortion extremists, the latest of which the Supreme Court just rejected due to lack of standing, the scientific and medical facts remain clear: mifepristone, in combination with misoprostol, remains an essential option for medication abortion and miscarriage management care.

Following the significant body of scientific and medical evidence-based research and science, in January 2023, the FDA permanently lifted some of the medically unnecessary and burdensome restrictions on medication abortion, allowing mail-order pharmacies and pharmacies with physical locations to be certified to dispense mifepristone. Specifically, they established a process for retail pharmacies, including your companies, to become certified. Unfortunately, your pharmacies do not appear to not have taken steps to begin this process, despite letters from numerous governors, senators, and advocates inquiring about your lack of movement to do so. Many other large retail pharmacies, including your competitors, have already received certification and are beginning to dispense mifepristone under this new FDA option. We applaud their leadership and encourage you to swiftly follow suit.

We are disappointed that your respective companies have not yet indicated plans to seek certification as this could help meet demand for this time-sensitive and essential medication for your workers, consumers and communities where you operate. In fact, data shows that employees want to work for companies that offer reproductive care benefits: 52 percent of workers age 18-34 believe their companies are not doing enough to help workers get the reproductive health access they need. Seventy percent of women ages 18-44 would be discouraged from taking a job in a state that restricts access to abortion, as would 59% of men in the same age cohort.

Additionally, this lack of action to certify is misaligned with your publicly stated values in support of equal access to health care and in support of gender equality. In light of escalating attacks on bodily autonomy and on people’s freedom to make their own health care decisions, your companies have a social responsibility to consumers and communities to address this issue as soon as possible. Families and communities rely on your pharmacies to provide them with life-saving, timely medications. Mifepristone is currently used in most abortions in this country, and it is an increasingly desired option. Your customers should be able to decide which method of care is best for them, but they can only do so if they are able to access it.

Therefore, we once again request that you provide us with a clear answer about whether and when you will seek authorization to become a certified pharmacy dispenser of mifepristone. We strongly urge you to pursue policies that facilitate access to essential and time-sensitive reproductive health care services, including medication abortion, which are clear to your consumers and to your pharmacy employees.

Please ensure that your company responds to us in writing to confirm whether and when you plan to support access to mifepristone through the certification process. We look forward to hearing from you by July 12, 2024.

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