(Bloomberg) — Rite Aid Corp. said it plans to dispense the abortion pill in a limited number of its pharmacies, two weeks after larger rivals Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. and CVS Health Corp. said they would get certified to provide it to patients.
(Bloomberg) — Rite Aid Corp. said it plans to dispense the abortion pill in a limited number of its pharmacies, two weeks after larger rivals Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. and CVS Health Corp. said they would get certified to provide it to patients.
Rite Aid said Thursday that it aims to sell the pill, mifepristone, to customers either in-person or via mail delivery in compliance with federal and state laws. “We are committed to ensuring equitable access to customers prescribed this product,” a company spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
Until recently abortion pills could only be distributed in health-care settings like doctor’s offices or hospitals. Regulators were under pressure for years from medical and advocacy groups to loosen restrictions, with leading medical bodies and health experts saying the rules were unnecessary.
Earlier this month Food and Drug Administration loosened decades-old restrictions to allow brick-and-mortar pharmacies to be able to dispense the pills for the first time, pending a certification not required for most drugs.
Details on which of Rite Aid’s pharmacies plan to dispense the pills have yet to be determined, the spokesperson said in a seperate email.
–With assistance from Immanual John Milton.
(Adds background on abortion pills in final paragraphs.)
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