On Friday, March 1, 2024, CVS and Walgreens announced that they will begin selling the abortion pills, mifepristone and misoprostol, in Massachusetts. The chains recently received certification to dispense the drugs in a small group of states, a process they initiated after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved new regulations last year allowing brick and mortar retailers to offer chemical abortion.
Though the pills will require a prescription, and the chains said they will not be available via mail order, it is well known that chemical abortion poses greater risks for women than surgical procedures – even as high as four times the risk, according to the Charlotte Lozier Institute. Up to one in five women will experience complications.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reports that chemical abortion has become the most common means of abortion nationally. Trends here reflect that increase. In 2022, 9,276 unborn children died in chemical abortions across Massachusetts; more than half of all abortions in the state.
“The abortion industry claims to care about women. If that were true, not one provider would support, let alone prescribe, chemical abortion,” said Massachusetts Citizens for Life President Myrna Maloney Flynn.
“Once again, the state of Massachusetts prioritizes ‘access’ over common sense safety measures. Our women will now pick up abortion pills at the local CVS or Walgreens and consume the drugs in their homes, without any medical care available,” Flynn continued. “Just as tragically, healthcare providers will not be able to support these women when they deliver their deceased babies into a toilet."
“Every abortion provider who informs a woman about mifepristone to end a pregnancy should, at the very least, make sure that woman also knows about Abortion Pill Rescue (APR), in case she regrets taking the pill and wants to save the life of her baby,” Flynn said. "Abortion rights advocates claim APR is ‘junk science.’ The site MCFL launched in January, APRScience.org, aims to counter such falsehoods and ensure APR remains legal and accessible from our pregnancy resource centers.”
MCFL Team