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BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — State pharmacy officials came out with new guidance for pharmacies around the Commonwealth Wednesday.
The Massachusetts Board of Registration in Pharmacy issued "clarifying guidance" that all pharmacies and pharmacy departments are required to stock all reproductive health medications, including the abortion pill Mifepristone, and dispense those medications to any patients with a prescription order.
"Here in Massachusetts, we will always protect access to reproductive care, including abortion," said Gov. Maura Healey. "At a time when states are rushing to ban medication abortion and some pharmacies are irresponsibly restricting access to it, we are reminding Massachusetts pharmacies that they have an obligation to provide critical reproductive health medications, including Mifepristone. It’s safe, effective, and legal."
"The Commonwealth of Massachusetts recognizes access to abortion as a fundamental right and as a basic healthcare service which those in the healthcare system have an obligation to provide and support," said Secretary of Health and Human Services Kate Walsh. "We urge pharmacy providers nationwide to commit to making all reproductive health medications available based on state and federal laws."
Lawmakers in several states have either banned or restricted access to abortion and reproductive health services since the Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade last year.
In a closely watched case in Texas, a lawsuit filed last November by the anti-abortion group Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine is looking to reverse the Food and Drug Administration's approval of Mifepristone and pull the drug from U.S. shelves.
According to the Department of Public Health, 20 attorneys general around the country have signed letters calling on pharmacies in their state to refuse to distribute Mifepristone.
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