Walk away from Walgreens

by Talia Wilcox Staff Writer

I’m currently reading a book called “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus. The story follows chemist Elizabeth Zott through the trials and tribulations of being a female chemist in the 1950s. It’s full of romance, funny stories about parenthood, and stories of misogyny and sexism. Although this novel is set in the 1950s, it seems we are ever closer to reverting back to the loss of women’s rights. Women’s rights and autonomy took a serious hit with the overturning of Roe v. Wade last summer, and last week, Walgreens put women on notice regarding their ability to access medical care as they will not sell the abortion pill mifepristone in 21 states. This decision, prompted by Republican attorneys general, is an extreme show of cowardice by Walgreens. Not only are Republicans interfering with personal healthcare decisions, but this choice has once again made access to abortion much more limited for women who don’t live in urban areas.

by Toby Winick Opinion Editor

Originally published March 13

As the Democratic Party seeks to build upon its historic midterm success from last year, the 2024 presidential election is a particularly important topic. President Joe Biden will likely seek re-election, giving him an incumbency advantage. Yet, with less than a year until the South Carolina primary, the most significant news development has been Marianne Williamson’s decision to run again in 2024.

Williamson is likely not going to be the nominee. She dropped out of the 2020 primary in January after failing to separate herself in a crowded field. Still, she is the first Democrat to enter the race.

I believe that the election of Joe Biden in 2020 has inadvertently put the Democrats at a devastating crossroads regarding their 2024 prospects.

Much of the reason surrounding Biden’s delayed campaign announcement is the significant concern over his electability. His approval rating is currently at only 43.9%. It is standard for presidents to lose popularity as their term goes on, but this figure at this point in his term places him at almost the same level as notably divisive former president Donald Trump and below Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. Therefore, Biden’s polling num-

Mifepristone, commonly branded as Korlym or Mifeprex, accounts for over half of abortions in the United States, according to research from the Guttmacher Institute. This statistic is extremely important for women living in a post-Roe world. The Guttmacher Institute also found that in the first 100 days after Roe’s overturning, across 15 states, 66 abortion clinics stopped offering services. Even more shocking, prior to the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, this cluster of 15 states only had 79 abortion clinics. Now only 13 clinics remain, and all of them are in Georgia. In the 15 states immediately impacted by the overturning of Roe (including but not limited to Alabama, Texas and Louisiana), only one state is offering abortion services. For women in rural areas, abortion clinics may not be accessible, and pharmacies carrying this drug offer the only local access to abortion. Not only does this political battle mark a victory for Republican legislators asserting more control over women’s bodies, it is a serious step toward taking away agency over women’s healthcare in general, which could extend beyond abortions. Moreover, we must recognize the reality that when safe abortion procedures are not readily available, the number of women who seek out unsafe and risky procedures may rise — a threat to women we thought Roe v. Wade had eliminated.

Democratic states and legislators are already taking action. California Gov. Gavin Newsom tweeted on March 6, “California won’t be doing business with @ walgreens — or any company that cowers to the extremists and puts women’s lives at risk. We’re done.” Newsom’s statement and economic decision toward Walgreens, at a cost of $54 million, marks an emphatic ideological stand against this Republican agenda. Other Democratic legislators are following suit; Democrat Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts is leading a coalition of six Democratic senators questioning where Walgreens will distribute abortion pills. States that have already banned medication abortions will not be receiving distributions of mifepristone, but states that have not banned medication abortions are also affected by this decision. For example, Alaska and Montana will not be receiving this legal medication for medication-assisted abortion because of Republican interference. In a letter to Walgreens, the coalition of Democratic senators wrote, “The refusal to dispense a medication that is legal and safe to patients in need would be a betrayal of your customers, and your commitment ‘to champion the health and well-being of every community in America.’”

Living in a post-Roe world, the closing of abortion clinics and stopping of abortion procedures in many states have already presented extreme challenges for women seeking healthcare. But Walgreens’ decision has threatened abortion in states that haven’t banned the procedure. Republicans have taken a private healthcare issue and politicized it. We should be worried about other pharmaceutical companies following suit and further putting women