Costco refuses to sell abortion pill despite threats

Costco is refusing to stock its pharmacies with the abortion pill mifepristone, despite public pressure and threats.

“Our position at this time not to sell mifepristone, which has not changed, is based on the lack of demand from our members and other patients, who we understand generally have the drug dispensed by their medical providers,” Costco said in a statement on Thursday quoted by Reuters.

Last year, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander sent letters to Costco, Walmart, Albertsons, McKesson, and Kroger, threatening to withdraw New York City pension fund investments unless they start stocking the pill. The pension funds, which hold over $294.6 billion in assets, owned over $1.32 billion in shares among the five retailers as of last year. 

“By failing to become certified mifepristone dispensers, these pharmacy giants put both women’s reproductive health care and investors money at risk,” Lander said. “The boards of Costco, Walmart, Kroger, Albertsons, and McKesson should follow CVS and Walgreens and immediately take the necessary steps to receive certification to dispense the medication mifepristone in states where it is legal. Making mifepristone available benefits customers and employees, increases sales, and generates long-term shareholder value.” 

But Lander’s threat did not have its intended effect. Kroger, the country’s second-largest grocery chain, removed mifepristone from its online pharmacy months later. Sam’s Club did the same. Albertson’s and Walmart are also reportedly refusing to carry the drug.

Pro-life groups are celebrating Costco’s statement.

“Students for Life has worked hard to call on pharmacies to reject these dangerous drugs,” wrote Kristan Hawkins of Students for Life. “Great to see 500+ pharmacies truly living up to their slogan, ‘Simplifying Home and LIFE.’ Protecting moms, protecting babies.”

Mifepristone safety

Until 2023, the FDA’s in-person dispensing rule meant that pharmacies could not sell mifepristone. Women who wanted a chemical abortion could only obtain the pill in clinics, hospitals, and medical offices. When the FDA removed the requirement, the agency was met with legal challenges that were ultimately struck down last year by the US Supreme Court, which sided with the FDA.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Marty Makary said in April that the agency has “no plans” to restrict access to mifepristone, despite overwhelming evidence that the drug is causing serious damage to women who take it.

In April, the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC) published the largest-ever study on mifepristone. Using an insurance claims database, researchers analyzed 865,727 mifepristone abortions between 2017 and 2023. They found that within 45 days of taking the pill, 10.93% of women experienced serious adverse events such as sepsis, infection, cardiac issues, anaphylaxis, or hemorrhage. EPPC notes that this rate is at least 22 times higher than the 0.5% rate displayed on the drug label.

The FDA’s prescribing label for mifepristone warns that between 2.9% and 4.6% of women who take the pill require ER visits.

Last year, a team of researchers from the Charlotte Lozier Institute teamed up with physicians from the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists to conduct a study on mifepristone by analyzing ER visits. The researchers selected four cohorts of women: women with no pregnancies, women who gave birth, women who had surgical abortions, and women who had chemical abortions by taking mifepristone. Using data from 2004 to 2015, they looked for any increase in ER visits by these women within 30 days of their outcomes. The group with no pregnancies was analyzed according to all their visits across the 11-year period. They discovered that ER visits among women who gave birth increased by 9.2%, among women with no pregnancies by 42.8%, among women who had surgical abortions by 280.4%, and among women who took mifepristone by 2,649.7%. There was a similar scale for ER visits coded as “severe” or “critical.”

Planned Parenthood describes mifepristone as “very safe” and CNN says it’s even safer than low-risk drugs like penicillin. 

Who makes mifepristone?

When the FDA approved mifepristone in 2000, it took great care to conceal certain information. All documents related to the approval have been redacted so that government employee names and the location of the manufacturer, Danco Laboratories, remain hidden.

To this day, the location of Danco Laboratories is not known to the public. The company uses a P.O. box as its address, is not listed on any public exchanges, and refuses to disclose the identities of its executives. According to the LA Times, Danco says this is because it fears violence from pro-life groups, though there have been no reports of attacks on Pfizer, which manufactures misoprostol. Misoprostol is a pill used together with mifepristone as part of the chemical abortion regimen.

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