Costco will not sell the abortion pill mifepristone across any of its U.S. pharmacy locations, the wholesaler told media outlets.
While Costco blamed “lack of demand from our members and other patients,” the decision comes amid increased pressure from conservative religious activist groups, including Alliance Defending Freedom.
The FDA-backed protocol for medical abortion — which now accounts for more than half of U.S. abortions — is to take a combination of two drugs, mifepristone and misoprostol. Currently two small drugmakers manufacture mifepristone for the U.S. market: Danco Laboratories, which won approval for the branded drug, Mifeprex, in 2000, and GenBioPro, which got the nod for the generic tablets in 2019.
According to Bloomberg News, religious activist groups will now direct efforts toward Walgreens and CVS Health.