Paxton Sends Letters to Pharmacies Regarding Efforts to Mail Abortion Drugs

AUSTIN – Attorney General Paxton joined a Missouri-led coalition in sending a letter to Rite Aid regarding the company’s plans to send abortion-inducing drugs through the mail. The coalition also sent letters to the Albertsons Companies, Costco, Kroger, and Walmart to urge them not to attempt to do the same.

Paxton previously sent letters to CVS and Walgreens warning them that both federal law and several states’ laws expressly ban using the mail to distribute dangerous abortion-inducing drugs. The coalition’s letter to Rite Aid is similar in nature and notifies the company that shipping abortion pills in the mail is illegal.

The letter to Rite Aid states: “[L]ike federal law, the laws of many states also prohibit using the mail to send or receive abortion drugs. . . . These state laws reflect not only our commitment to protecting the lives and dignity of children, but also of women. Abortion pills are far riskier than surgical abortions, according to established scientific consensus.”

The coalition also applauded the apparent decision of several other national pharmacies not to engage in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (“FDA”) unlawful process for sending abortion pills through the mail. For example, as the opening sentence in the letter to the Albertsons Companies states: “We are grateful that your company so far has not accepted the FDA’s unlawful and risky invitation for pharmacies to use the mail to obtain and sell abortion pills. We write to advise you of why the FDA’s invitation is unlawful and risky and to urge you to continue rejecting it.”

To read the letter to Rite Aid, click here.

To read the letter to the Albertsons Companies, click here.

To read the letter to Costco, click here.

To read the letter to Kroger, click here.

To read the letter to Walmart, click here.