Pharmaceutical retail giant Walgreens announced Friday that it will not distribute abortion pills in Kansas after state Attorney General Kris Kobach warned the company of legal action.
It was early January when the company proclaimed it would be the first pharmacy to disperse the lethal chemical abortion drug Mifepristone. These pills would be delivered through stores and by mail in line with the goals of President Joe Biden’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Mifepristone works by killing the unborn child and then triggering its expulsion from the mother’s womb.
The FDA’s goal, of course, was to maneuver past state restrictions on abortion after the demise of Roe last summer. However, it ran into a roadblock in Kansas and will likely see a similar reaction in several other states.
VICTORY! Kansas Attorney General Stops Walgreens From Selling Abortion Pills https://t.co/MPA791f6A6 pic.twitter.com/PF2tICR5v7
— LifeNews.com (@LifeNewsHQ) February 21, 2023
In his letter to Walgreens executive Danielle Gray, Kobach informed her that the company’s intentions were illegal and “Kansas will not hesitate to enforce the law.” He blamed the “ends-justify-the-means” White House for skirting the clear intention of the court and state laws.
For the record, as recently as last year the FDA warned of safety concerns over Mifepristone.
In the weeks after the FDA implored retail pharmacies to distribute abortion pills, 20 state attorneys general notified CVS and Walgreens that prosecution will follow any moves to opt into the White House’s plan.
Federal law, they noted, prohibits abortion pills from being sent through the mail.
Specifically, Title 18, Section 1461 of the United States Code lists “every article or thing designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion” as “nonmailable.” It could not be clearer.
Further, as Kobach wrote, the federal statute allows enforcement by “an ordinary private-party lawsuit.” He explained that, under Title 18, Section 1964, private parties may bring suit over violations of Section 1461.
In Kansas’ case, state law requires abortion drugs be administered to the patient “by or in the same room and in the physical presence of the physician who prescribed, dispensed, or otherwise provided the drug or prescription.”
The Biden administration clearly tried to circumvent both the Supreme Court and federal and state laws in encouraging pharmacies to distribute abortion pills by mail. It is up to states like Kansas to proactively stop this violation of the law and safeguard the rights of unborn children.
