Major Stores Issue Statements Confirming They Aren’t Selling Abortion Pill

Ashley Sadler

Communications Director

(Oregon Right to Life) — Two major retailers have confirmed that they are not selling the abortion pill mifepristone – known by its brand name Mifeprex – after reports originally indicated they had listed the drug for sale online.

Last month, pro-life news and advocacy organization Live Action broke a story reporting that the drug appeared for sale on the retailers’ websites. The story was subsequently picked up by other news outlets.

Responding to the reports, both Kroger and Sam’s Club issued statements declaring that they were not selling the drug, and that the online listings had been erroneous.

“The Kroger Company Family of Pharmacies do not carry Mifepristone, nor do we dispense it,” Danielle Lewis Jones, Head of Communications for Kroger Health, said in an email to a senior editor at The Washington Stand. “The Kroger Family of Pharmacies doesn’t carry Mifepristone and was listed on the Kroger Health Savings Club site in error. It has since been removed and we are requesting a retraction of Kroger’s inclusion in the story.”

Likewise, Sam’s Club Senior Director of Global Communications Allison Van Matre told Live Action that the company uses “a third-party vendor to aggregate medication pricing, and their tool provided incorrect information.”

Major stores like Kroger and Sam’s Club have faced pressure from Democrats to begin selling the abortion pill after the FDA relaxed regulations, permitting pharmacies to distribute the drug. CVS and Walgreens began dispensing mifepristone in select locations in March, 2024.

Last summer, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander wrote to the CEOs of Albertsons, Costco, Walmart, Kroger, and McKesson, urging them to begin doling out the abortion pill in their pharmacies. Lander argued that “[m]aking mifepristone available benefits customers and employees, increases sales, and generates long-term shareholder value.” 

The letter drew swift pushback, with hundreds of investors, dozens of financial managers, and some 6,000 Costco members countering the push from the New York City Comptroller and urging the companies not to dispense the pills. Live Action also encouraged pro-life advocates to join their voices in opposition to Walmart, Costco, and other stores supplying the drugs.

Oregon Right to Life also launched its own petition, gathering over 1,300 signatures from Oregonians and others asking the companies not to get involved in the abortion business.

To date, none of the companies have agreed to stock the drug.

READ: Over 1,300 Pro-Life Advocates Urge CEOs of Walmart, Costco Not to Sell Abortion Pills

The push to expand distribution of mifepristone to big-box and popular grocery stores follows a series of federal changes to eliminate restrictions on where and how the drugs may be dispensed, including several recent ones encouraged and backed by the pro-abortion Biden-Harris administration.

In 2016, the FDA implemented a new policy that widened the timeframe in which mifepristone could be prescribed during pregnancy. In 2021, the FDA permitted the drug to be prescribed online and distributed via mail. Local pharmacies were also authorized to dispense mifepristone, and in January 2023, that permission was extended to drug stores.

Late last year, a pilot program in Washington state saw pharmacists both prescribe and distribute the pill to dozens of women, sparking criticism and concern from pro-life advocates who emphasize the risks posed by the pill.

The abortion pill in question, mifepristone, blocks the action of the growth hormone progesterone, causing the unborn human being in the womb to die of starvation. The second drug in the chemical abortion regimen, misoprostol, is taken 24–72 hours later to induce contractions to expel the body. 

RELATED: Fact Sheet: What is Chemical Abortion?

Chemical abortions currently comprise more than half of all abortions nationwide. Laws in pro-life states prohibit prescription of the pills within state borders, but women in those states are reportedly accessing the drugs anyway through virtual telehealth appointments and mail-order delivery. A Texas lawsuit against a New York doctor for mailing abortion drugs in violation of Texas law has potential to impact the prescription and sending of abortion pills across state lines.

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