On Wednesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom canceled a $54 million contract with Walgreens after the pharmacy behemoth said it would not mail-order an abortion medication in some states with a conservative majority.
To buy specialist pharmacy prescription drugs for California’s jail healthcare system, including antiviral and antifungal medications and medication for congestive heart failure, Newsom directed state officials not to extend a deal with Walgreens. The contract, which expires on April 30, has brought in around $54 million for Walgreens.
An email submitted by the Associated Press to a Walgreens official on the Deerfield, Illinois suburb of Chicago’s north side, requesting comment, received no response. But earlier this week, the business stated in a statement it planned to supply the medicine, called mifepristone, in any jurisdiction where it is legally permissible to do so.
Pregnancy termination results from the combination of mifepristone and another drug. The US Food and Drug Administration approved its use in 2000 for use up until the tenth week of pregnancy. More than half of all abortions are carried out in the US today, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights.
More than a dozen states have banned the use of abortion medicines since the US Supreme Court last year abolished the legal right to an abortion. However, these limitations are being contested in court.
Walgreens and CVS have been cautioned by the attorneys general of 20 states, many of which have Republican governors, that doing business in their states may result in legal repercussions. A statement stating that it will not administer the medicine in their states was sent to each attorney general, Walgreens said last week.
READ ALSO: Texas Residents Voted ‘Yes’ to Medical Marijuana
Newsom Urges to Make Abortion Illegal in California
Newsom replied to that revelation on Monday, saying in a message on Twitter that California will not be doing business with Walgreens “or any firm that cowers to the radicals and puts women’s lives at risk”.
Walgreens reported $132.7 billion in sales for the fiscal year that ended on August 31, thus losing the California contract will only have a minor effect on the company’s earnings.
Newsom, however, believes that the move is more about establishing California as a pioneer in what he has referred to as reproductive freedom.
Newsom has vowed to turn California into a safe haven for citizens of other states with harsh or outlawed restrictions on abortion. More than a dozen new laws aimed at defending abortion rights were approved by the governor of California last year. This included his approval of $20 million in additional spending to help cover the travel and hotel costs for patients coming to California from other states to undergo abortions.
READ ALSO: Evers’ Budget Tax Proposal: Increased For Wealthiest, Cuts For Low and Middle-Income?
