(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) Pro-life groups have begun protesting Walgreens and CVS after the companies decided to become Planned Parenthood alternatives, with their announcement that they will dispense abortion pills following a Food and Drug Administration [FDA] regulatory change.
Around 100 pro-life activists led by Live Action protested outside of a Walgreens shareholders meeting on Thursday in Newport Coast, Calif., according to Breitbart. Lila Rose, Live Action founder and president, said that Walgreens is “on track to becoming one of the biggest abortionists in the nation.”
“They are no longer a healthcare company but an abortion company. It is disgusting and repulsive to the American people that a pharmacist preparing allergy medication and blood pressure pills will now also be packaging and handing out deadly poison intended to kill children,” she said in her statement.
“Walgreens — and other companies choosing to make a quick buck by pedaling the deadly abortion pill — can never be taken seriously as a healthcare company again. Mothers and children will not be safe until these drugs are taken off the market.”
The FDA made a regulatory change in early January that allowed retail pharmacies to offer Mifepristone — the first pill used in a two-drug medication abortion regimen — in-store and by mail order. However, Patients will still need a prescription from a certified healthcare provider
According to a Catholic News Agency [CNA] report, Students for Life is organizing protests with other pro-life groups. “Cancel Abortion Cartels” — the group’s first major demonstration — is set for Feb. 14 at the Walgreens National Headquarters in Deerfield, Ill. The group has also called for a National Day of Protest at pharmacies across the country on March 4.
“Our purpose of having these protests is so that we can let ‘Big Pharma’ companies know that it’s absolutely unacceptable to offer abortion at our neighborhood drug stores,” Caroline Wharton, a writer and press strategist with Students for Life, said.
“I don’t want to go into a drugstore and be able to buy my chewing gum and my tights and then get a pill that ends a life. It’s just not acceptable.”
40 Day for Life is also encouraging peaceful protests at pharmacies during its February 22 – April 2 campaign, according to the report.
“CVS and Walgreens have replaced Planned Parenthood as the most significant abortion chains in the Western Hemisphere,” Shawn Carney, president and CEO of 40 Days for Life, told CNA on Jan. 24.
“With 18,000 locations between the two, and now Rite Aid joining in, we have given the hundreds of 40 Days for Life campaign leaders not currently leading a campaign the opportunity to do so outside a pharmacy.”
