Major pharmacies agree to fill abortion scripts, smaller operations still mulling over it
CVS and Walgreens recently announced they would distribute mifepristone
CVS and Walgreens made news this month when their executives announced that they would fill prescriptions for abortion medication.
Pharmacists and pharmacy managers’ willingness to do that will be crucial in advancing and maintaining abortion access for many women across the country. Ninety percent of American counties do not have access to an abortion facility. Studies have shown that pharmacists may be willing to fill that void if potential barriers are addressed.
Selina Sandoval, an expert at Physicians for Reproductive Health, conducted a study of 20 qualitative interviews with pharmacists across the United States. The pharmacists in her study anticipated barriers that included personal, religious, and political beliefs of pharmacists and lack of space and systems to support the model.
Ensuring adequate staffing with pharmacists willing to participate, private space, time for counseling, safe follow-up, training, and reimbursement mechanisms were perceived strategies to facilitate successful implementation.
“There are so few contraindications to medication abortion,” Sandoval said. “We know that it's overwhelmingly safe. The pharmacists that I have discussed this with overwhelmingly feel very positive about providing it to patients.”
Sandoval suspects that the trends in conservative areas would mirror those in traditional politics–there would be a greater reluctance to fulfill duties than in urban or suburban environments.
Another concern is any conscientious objections a pharmacy manager or owner may have. Sandoval said seeing some bigger pharmacies distribute the medication was overwhelmingly positive.
“That's obviously our first step,” Sandoval said.
According to the National Community Pharmacists Association, there are 19,400 independently owned pharmacies in the United States, roughly equal to all the largest chain stores.
Close to 80 percent of independent pharmacies serve areas with a population of less than 50,000. Since most of those areas are also without an abortion provider, it’s going to be an area where abortion rights activists have to focus on increasing abortion access through the medication option.
It’s possible that pharmacists could even prescribe abortion medication in some states, as they do with birth control. That would mean greater education and training. It’s ambitious for abortion rights leaders to push for over-the-counter availability of abortion medication as that would meet with intense resistance from the antiabortion movement.
“It takes more than just having a pharmacist on the ground who's willing to provide the care,” Sandoval said. “There's a lot of other key stakeholders that have to buy in as well.”