One of the largest drugstore chains in the U.S., Walgreens, announced that it will stop providing birth control pills in several GOP-led states. The move comes after Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey and several other co-signers sent a letter to Walgreens stating that their delivery of birth control pills by U.S. mail violated a legal statute.
The authors of the letter stated that their main intent was the protection of women and children and insisted that mail delivery of abortion pills was a violation of federal and several state laws.
“We emphasize that it is our responsibility as State Attorneys General to uphold the law and protect the health, safety, and well-being of women and unborn children in our states. Part of that responsibility includes ensuring that companies like yours are fully informed of the law so that harm does not come to our citizens”, said the authors.
Walgreens' move to restrict access to abortion pills under legal pressure from reactionary state Attorney Generals demonstrates how the decisions of private companies can affect the health outcomes of the wider population. While claiming that the motive for the legal challenge was the protection of women and children, the move will further the divide between individual states as it pertains to access to abortion. State officials and anti-abortion activists will use the bourgeois legal system to impose restrictions on abortion to limit a woman’s choice in reproduction and ensure a growing exploitable labor force. This is yet another example of a capitalist enterprise, in this case Walgreens, making a decision that will affect the larger population at the behest of the most reactionary and backward actors.