MA Gov. Directs Pharmacies To Keep Abortion Medications In Stock

BOSTON, MA — Pharmacists in Massachusetts have to keep abortion medications in stock and dispense them to anyone with a valid prescription.

That was the reminder issued through the state Department of Public Health by Gov. Maura Healey on Wednesday. The reminder comes as more than a dozen states have banned abortion since Roe was overturned last year, and some have moved to restrict telehealth access to abortion healthcare like the pill mifepristone.

Along with abortion being banned in 13 states, abortion medications have also been targeted for removal. A lawsuit has been filed in Texas seeking to overturn the Food and Drug Administration's approval of mifepristone, and attorneys general from 20 states have urged pharmacists to refuse to dispense the pills.

"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," Healey said in a news release.

The guidance issued Wednesday requires pharmacies licensed by the state Board of Registration in Pharmacy not only to dispense the medications, but to have them in stock. Pharmacies or pharmacists that refuse can be subject to an investigation by the Board of Registration in Pharmacy, according to the guidance.

"Our regulations require pharmacies to stock and/or procure all prescriptions necessary to meet the needs of the community, and we interpret that to include all reproductive health medications, including mifepristone," Public Health Commissioner Margret Cooke said in a news release. "This is consistent with our standards as they relate to other basic though controversial medications, including [the anti-opioid] naloxone."