Walgreens’ announced last week that the pharmacy chain would no longer sell abortion pills in 20 states after attorney generals from those states threatened legal action. Walgreens’ decision came about following the United States Supreme Court decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which officially reversed the abortion law Roe v. Wade.
The Supreme Court ruling sent the issue of abortion back to the states, with some states choosing to tighten up the window in which a pregnant woman can legally have an abortion.
California did the opposite, enshrining abortion through the 9th month into the State Constitution, and declared California an abortion sanctuary state.
The real world impact of California Governor Newsom’s edict about Walgreens is extensive. As a business enterprise, the real world impact is that the availability and accessibility of medical care will be reduced by Gov. Newsom’s impulsive, irresponsible action, primarily in communities that only have one pharmacy, and for those on Medi-Cal.
March 6th, Gov. Newsom Tweeted:
California won’t be doing business with @walgreens — or any company that cowers to the extremists and puts women’s lives at risk. We’re done.
Wednesday, Newsom issued a press statement announcing, “California is pulling back its renewal of a multi-million dollar contract with Walgreens, following the company’s preemptive decision not to dispense the abortion medication Mifepristone in 21 states, including states where abortion remains legal.”
Newsom’s edict is all about states which don’t support abortion through the end of a woman’s pregnancy.
On Monday, Governor Newsom called for the review of all contracts between the State and Walgreens and today’s announcement is a result of that ongoing review. Wednesday the governor went even further, digging his heels in:
“California will not stand by as corporations cave to extremists and cut off critical access to reproductive care and freedom,” said Governor Newsom. “California is on track to be the fourth largest economy in the world and we will leverage our market power to defend the right to choose.”
“Reproductive care” is a misnomer when the outcome of an abortion is the death of a baby. Freedom is an entirely separate issue.
Common sense says most “one pharmacy” communities are lower income, just like communities with only one grocery store. Will Gov. Newsom be creating a pharmacy desert? He certainly will be reducing the ability for many people to get their prescriptions filled in their own town.
Walgreens is complying with the laws of other states. Is Gov. Newsom telling Walgreens to violate the laws of the other states in order to keep doing business in California?
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey and 20 other state Attorneys General wrote a letter to Walgreens explaining their position about the pharmacy store’s plans to obtain and sell abortion pills:
“First, many people are not aware that federal law expressly prohibits using the mail to send or receive any drug that will “be used or applied for producing abortion.” 18 U.S.C. § 1461. Although many people are unfamiliar with this statute because it has not been amended in a few decades, the text could not be clearer: “every article or thing designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion … shall not be conveyed in the mails.” And anyone who “knowingly takes any such thing from the mails for the purpose of circulating” is guilty of a federal crime. Obviously, a federal criminal law—especially one that is, as here, enforceable through a private right of action—deserves serious contemplation.
What is next for the imperious Governor Newsom? “Is he going to dictate speed limits in other states?” a friend rhetorically asked. Will he demand other states use California’s K-12 public school curriculum? Will he demand other states buy his wife’s creepy “gender justice” films?
How is it that Gov. Newsom doesn’t recognize that he is the one “cutting off critical access” to pharmacies, when he accuses other states of “cutting off critical access to reproductive care and freedom.”
As the Globe reported, “For Walgreens, who hasn’t been shy before about closing poorly performing stores, the sudden loss of a lot of customers could force a bunch to close due to the drop in revenue. So that means not only more lost business, but job loss in California. There are nearly 600 Walgreens stores in the state, and they all account for about 10% of all pharmacy orders in the state. If a bunch of people have to suddenly move their prescriptions out, we’re talking about an overnight shift of several percentage points in state pharmacy orders. A lot of insurance companies have agreements with Walgreens right now, so those could be severed as a result. Big shifts where people buy things don’t just happen that quick.”
In low-income and minority communities throughout California, there may be only one pharmacy. What happens when that pharmacy is a Walgreens?
Gov. Newsom’s bluster and bullying Walgreens is one issue; thinking he can bluster and bully 21 other governors and state Attorneys General is entirely another. However, it may be entertaining to watch.
The letter to Walgreens was signed by:
Andrew Bailey, Missouri Attorney General
Treg Taylor, Alaska Attorney General
Ashley Moody, Florida Attorney General
Steve Marshall, Alabama Attorney General
Tim Griffin, Arkansas Attorney General
Chris Carr, Georgia Attorney General
Todd Rokita, Indiana Attorney General
Daniel Cameron, Kentucky Attorney General
Lynn Fitch, Mississippi Attorney General
Drew Wrigley, North Dakota Attorney General
Gentner F. Drummond, Oklahoma Attorney General
Marty Jackley, South Dakota Attorney General
Brenna Bird, Iowa Attorney General
Jeff Landry, Louisiana Attorney General
Austin Knudsen, Montana Attorney General
Dave Yost, Ohio Attorney General
Alan Wilson, South Carolina Attorney General
Ken Paxton, Texas Attorney General
Sean D. Reyes, Utah Attorney General
Patrick Morrisey, West Virginia Attorney General
View Comments (24)
Walgreens said they would only distribute the drug in states where it was legal, but Newsomlini (aka hair gel Hitler) wants them to break the law in states where it's not legal? That's what lawless Democrats do!
This is just more illogical behavior by California far left radicals like Newsom. Walgreens is just following the law of other states, and far left radical Newsom has to "stick his nose where it don't belong".
Another dictatorial edict by Newsom? Newsom needs to be brought before a tribunal and be held accountable for his many crimes against humanity such as locking healthy Californians and small businesses down (while excluding himself and his cronies) during the scamdemic, for mandating experimental mRNA shots that have injured and killed thousands of innocent Californians, and for making California a mecca for killing babies. He and his wretched soul a lot to answer for?
I totally agree. He is soulless, bought-and-sold by Big Pharm and Amazon (coincidentally -- not -- Amazon is going into the prescription drug business. Fewer Walgreen's, no Pharmaca's no Lucky's Pharmacies translate into more big profits for Amazon -- and more pay-offs for the evil politicians doing their bidding).
Katy if you ask me you are exactly right in all aspects of your analysis of Newsom's impulsive and explosive temper tantrum. And Gavin's increasing self-righteousness about this topic is just plain BIZARRE on top of everything else, to act as though Walgreen's has done something really wrong and criminal here. He has gone so far off the range with this stuff recently it has become impossible to understand who he is trying to appeal to with it. Nothing of what he says reflects reality anymore. Maybe he's losing it.
So Newsom to get angry with someone respecting the rule of law. What we really need is a functional non-dysfunctional opposition party in this state! Why can’t the repubicans get their act together? I mean his tantrums are softballs that a functional opposition should be able to knock out of the park!
The CAGOP has become pretty ineffective these days, it's true ---- but probably the most overwhelming problem Californians are contending with today that negative affects sensible leadership is election cheating. This has been an issue for years and an especially destructive one for the last 5 - 6 years.
Check out Katy Grimes' archives on the subject here at The Globe to get a taste of what a menace this has become.
petty despot
Newsom ending California Department of General Services' $54 million contract with Walgreens by a dictatorial edict is just as shady as Newsom's no-bid $1 billion N-95 mask deal with the newly formed Chinese mask company connected with the CCP. It's a shame that California doesn't have an opposition party to investigate and put a stop to Newsom's abuse of power?
Republican Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson and the rest of the RINOs are too busy shoveling funds to their preferred Democrat candidates to care.
It's pretty obvious that this dipwad of a "Governor" is starting to preen his bona fides to the ultra-progressive base of his party (and his World Economic Forum paymaster handlers) as he ramps up his propaganda campaign to get the 2024 Presidential nomination, once Creepy Uncle Joe is taken out of the equation by the cabal....
WE can thwart this political GRANDSTANDING by purposefully going to SHOP AT WALGREENS and thanking the managers for their principled stand to protect the lives of the unborn and stop the eugenicist impulses of the Communists, under the guise of "freedom to choose"....
I did not get that Walgreen's is ceasing the sale of abortion drugs in CA; just in the states which prohibit it. They are still complicit in the murder of babies.
Republican Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson and the rest of the RINOs are too busy shoveling funds to their preferred Democrat candidates to care.
This is crazy. Who was the extremist during Covid and locking us down? Well, I guess encouraging Walgreens to break the laws of other states isn't extremist.