California cuts ties with Walgreens after company limits access to abortion pills

California will not do business with Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc, Gavin Newsom, the state’s governor, said in a tweet on Monday, days after the pharmacy chain said it will not dispense abortion pills in some Republican states.

The state refuses to do business with Walgreens or “any company that cowers to the extremists and puts women’s lives at risk”, the Democrat said.

Walgreens did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Walgreens said last week it will not dispense abortion pills in the states of 20 Republican attorneys general who have told the pharmacy chain it risked breaking the law should it dispense them to the states by mail.

The decision comes after the US Food and Drug Administration allowed retail pharmacies to dispense mifepristone pills, including by mail, provided they are certified under special safety rules for the drug.

A company spokesperson said the pharmacy’s decision was in response to a letter from the attorneys general. They said Walgreens intended to become a certified pharmacy and would only dispense in jurisdictions where it was legal to do so.

On Friday, the White House said that it was “dangerous and unacceptable” for elected officials to target women’s access to federally approved medication abortion pills.

“Elected officials targeting pharmacies and their ability to provide women with access to safe, effective and FDA-approved medication is dangerous and just unacceptable,” said Karine Jean-Pierre, press secretary for the White House.

The US Food and Drug Administration in January allowed retail pharmacies to sell abortion pill mifepristone, including by mail, provided they were certified under special safety rules for the drug.

Medication abortion, which accounts for more than half of US abortions, has drawn increasing attention since the supreme court in June overturned a landmark 1973 Roe v Wade ruling that had recognized abortion as a constitutional right nationwide.

Mifepristone, used in combination with another drug, misoprostol, is approved for abortion within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy.