State officials issue guidance to Mass. pharmacies: stock abortion pills – The Boston Globe | CPT PPP Coverage

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State officials on Wednesday issued guidance to Massachusetts pharmacies indicating they must stock all reproductive health medications including mifepristone, a drug that can safely end a pregnancy in its early stages and that’s currently the subject of dueling lawsuits seeking to expand or restrict access to the pill.

In a statement, the Mass. Department of Public Health said the “clarifying guidance” came from the state Board of Registration in Pharmacy.

“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,” said Public Health Commissioner Margret Cooke in the statement.

“This is consistent with our standards as they relate to other basic though controversial medications, including naloxone,” Cooke said.

In November, anti-abortion groups filed a federal lawsuit in Texas, asking the court to overturn the FDA’s approval of the drug. In their suit, the groups claimed federal regulators “lacked authority” to approve the drug for abortion more than two decades ago.

The case is pending.

“Here in Massachusetts, we will always protect access to reproductive care, including abortion,” said Governor Maura T. Healey, a Democrat, in Wednesday’s statement.

“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,” Healey said. “It’s safe, effective, and legal.”

The Texas lawsuit was filed about five months after the US Supreme Court overturned its landmark Roe v. Wade decision, ending the constitutional right to an abortion nationwide that had existed for nearly 50 years and plunging the country into a divisive new political battle with major implications for the health and lives of women.

Officials in blue states like Massachusetts have vowed to protect abortion rights in their jurisdictions, while a number of red states have moved to restrict such rights in the wake of the high court ruling.

In fact, the DPH noted Wednesday, 20 state attorneys general have signed letters calling on pharmacies in their states to refuse to distribute mifepristone.

Meanwhile 11 states including Rhode Island have filed suit against the FDA, challenging certain federal restrictions imposed on the distribution of mifepristone. That suit’s pending as well.

In addition to Rhode Island, other states that have joined the suit include Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, and Vermont.

Mifepristone, known by the brand name Mifeprex, was approved by the FDA in 2000. Scientific evidence showed that a two-drug medication regimen — starting with mifepristone and followed by misoprostol — ends a pregnancy within its first 10 weeks safely and effectively. Both drugs are also used for medical reasons besides abortions.

“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 state Secretary of Health and Human Services Kate Walsh in the release.

“We urge pharmacy providers nationwide to commit to making all reproductive health medications available based on state and federal laws,” Walsh said.

Material from prior Globe stories was used in this report.

Travis Andersen can be reached at travis.andersen@globe.com.