Small pharmacies face quandary over abortion pill
Community drugstores have to partake in federal program to distribute medication
As major pharmacy chains have pledged to provide abortion care, some people have wondered whether mom-and-pop drugstores will do so as well.
There are 19,400 independently owned pharmacies in the United States, which is roughly equal to the number of all the largest chain stores, according to the National Community Pharmacists Association.
Close to 80 percent of independent pharmacies are serving 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 in order to increase abortion access through the medication option.
Ronna Hauser, senior vice president of policy and pharmacy affairs for the NCPA, said it will be an individual decision for each small pharmacy owner as to whether they want to provide the abortion pill. The state and area they’re located in will play a large role in determining whether it’s available to the women there.
“It's going to be a decision between a pharmacy, a patient and a physician,” Hauser said.
Mifeprex and its generic Mifepristone Tablets, 200 mg, are available under a single, shared system, known as the Mifepristone REMS Program, which sets forth the requirements that must be followed for mifepristone for medical termination of pregnancy through ten weeks gestation.
Under the Mifepristone REMS Program, mifepristone must be dispensed by or under the supervision of a certified prescriber or by certified pharmacies for prescriptions issued by certified prescribers. Under the Mifepristone REMS Program, mifepristone may be dispensed in person or by mail.
Providers would have to partake in the risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (REMS) program, which is overseen by the Food and Drug Administration.
“We're not hearing that that's happening down at the independent pharmacy level,” Hauser said. “Not to say that it couldn't. We're just not hearing that right now.”
Pharmacies don’t have to publicize that they distribute the drug. But it’s likely antiabortion activists would discover whether or not they had chosen to do so.
Hauser said that could cause some ambivalence among pharmacists.
“It is unfortunate that we do have some conflicting, you know, state and federal rules here at play,” Hauser said.