Walgreens said on Friday it does not plan to dispense abortion pills in Kansas after state Attorney General Kris Kobach wrote a letter to the pharmacy warning of legal action if it goes along with President Joe Biden’s abortion-for-all scheme.
Walgreens announced last week that the company will not dispense abortion pills in Kansas after warnings from Attorney General Kris Kobach, who vowed to take legal steps to stop the sale of abortions in the state.
According to the Federalist, Walgreens announced in January it would sell mifepristone, a chemical abortion drug, in stores and through mail after Biden’s Food and Drug Administration rule change that allows abortion workarounds in Republican-led states.
Mifepristone is a drug that kills and pushes an unborn child out of the mother’s womb.
In early February, Kobach hit back at Walgreens, putting the company on notice.
“I have become aware of your company’s recently announced plan to provide abortifacients through its mail-order pharmacy business,” Kobach wrote to Walgreens on Feb. 6.
“As the chief law enforcement officer in Kansas, I am writing to advise you that this plan is illegal, and Kansas will not hesitate to enforce the law.”
Citing federal and state laws, Kobach argued that Walgreens’ plan to sell abortion pills in Kansas was illegal.
According to Kobach, Kansas statute states that drugs such as mifepristone must “be given 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 to the patient.”
Kobach also explained that a federal statute – Title 18, Section 1461 of the United States Code – mandates that anything “designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion” is “nonmailable matter” and should not be sent through the mail.
“Ordinarily, the national government’s steadfast determination not to enforce the law would be the end of things,” Kobach said. “But §1461 is not a normal criminal statute because it can be enforced by an ordinary private-party lawsuit.”
Danielle Gray, the executive vice president of Walgreens Boots Alliance, walked back the company’s plan after Kobach’s stark warnings.
“Walgreens does not intend to dispense Mifepristone within your state and does not intend to ship Mifepristone into your state from any of our pharmacies,” Gray wrote.
“If this approach changes, we will be sure to notify you.”
Kobach joined Tony Perkins on “Washington Watch” this week to discuss Walgreens’ decision to back off from its original plan, which was a bit of a surprise, the Attorney General admitted.
Kansans for Life, a grassroots pro-life educational organization speaking up for the defenseless in Kansas, took to Twitter to commend Kobach and celebrate the news from Walgreens.
🚨 Walgreens has committed to abide by Kansas and federal laws after receiving a written warning from Attorney General Kris Kobach to not begin dispensing abortion pills from its pharmacy windows in the state.
Read our full press release here: https://t.co/cJKO08liPK pic.twitter.com/t8AWHwu9HL
— Kansans for Life (@kansansforlife) February 20, 2023
Twenty other American attorneys general have issued warnings to companies planning to use Biden’s FDA workaround in their states, according to the Federalist.
