As of last month, the Alaska Department of Law was unaware of the fact that Walgreens was distributing the abortion drug mifepristone through its Alaska stores, a practice that may be in violation of state law.

As reported by the Watchman on Feb. 16, the Walgreens store in Soldotna began dispensing the deadly drug after initially assuring the state that it would not sell mifepristone in its 11 Alaska stores.

Mifepristone is a highly potent drug that is primarily used to kill an unborn baby up to 70 days gestation. It is now used in nearly half of all Alaska abortions, causing the nourishing placenta to detach from the mother’s uterine wall, and thereby starving the developing child. A second drug (misoprostol) is given two days later to force contractions and expel the dead body from the mother’s womb. This method, which requires at least three trips to the abortion facility, often results in women aborting their babies at home or in the workplace, and up to five days after ingesting the drugs. It also comes with serious and well-documented medical side effects, including prolonged, severe bleeding and life-threatening systemic infection.

The Watchman sent a series of questions to the Dept. of Law, asking whether Walgreens was breaking the law by selling abortion drugs outside of a state-licensed facility.

Information Officer Sam Curtis said the department was not aware that Walgreens was selling mifepristone. In a Feb. 16 email, he also noted that mifepristone could be prescribed to treat “a number of different conditions, including to induce an abortion.”

If Walgreens is selling the drug to induce abortions, however, this is a violation of Alaska law (AS 18.16.010(a)(1-2)), which provides that only licensed physicians may perform abortions and requires that ‘the abortion is performed in a hospital or other facility approved for the purpose by the Department of Health or a hospital operated by the federal government or an agency of the federal government.’”

HOLDING WALGREENS ACCOUNTABLE

The Dept. of Law email noted that, “Any citizen who believes that a crime has occurred should report to a law enforcement agency for a criminal investigation. The Department of Law evaluates cases referred by law enforcement following that agency’s criminal investigation. If any citizen believes that a medical practitioner or pharmacist has violated state law, that citizen is encouraged to report such conduct to the appropriate state professional licensing board for further investigation.”

The Alaska Board of Pharmacy consists of five pharmacists and two public members. Board members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Legislature. Its duties include carrying out laws governing pharmacy practice in Alaska. It makes final licensing decisions and takes disciplinary actions against licensees who violate the law.

Those who wish to file an official complaint against Walgreens or any other pharmacy can click here to access the complaint form. Additional questions can be sent via email to BoardOfPharmacy@Alaska.Gov, or by calling the Division of Corporations, Business and Professional Licensing Investigations Unit at 907-269-8124.

WALGREENS FLIP FLOPS

The Walgreens controversy began last year when the national chain announced that it was seeking federal approval to dispense the abortion pill mifepristone.

After first assuring the state that the company would not sell mifepristone in Alaska, Walgreens reversed course.

Currently a group of pro-life advocates in Soldotna are protesting the local Walgreens store on a weekly basis, after the company told investigative activists that it is now selling mifepristone. The Watchman confirmed this practice with a Soldotna Walgreens staffer who said the store requires a script to distribute 200 mg of mifepristone to local residents.

“Yes, we do have that in stock,” a staffer told the Watchman on Feb. 16. “Your doctor will just send a script to us and then we’ll get it filled for you.”

The decision to dispense mifepristone comes just one year after Walgreens sent a letter to 20 states, including Alaska, saying it would not sell the abortion drug in its Alaska stores.

The Walgreens letter was sent after Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor, along with other state attorneys general, issued a warning to pharmacies last March, noting that state law prohibits the sale of mifepristone directly to patients, whether by mail or in person.

In the wake of the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, abortion activists across the nation have been aggressively trying to loosen longstanding rules governing the distribution of chemical abortions. In December of 2021, Biden’s Food & Drug Administration lifted the federal requirement that abortion drugs be dispensed in person. Alaska law, however, still requires it.

The Biden administration’s decision has been challenged, and the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case on March 26.

PROTESTS IN SOLDOTNA & ANCHORAGE ON MARCH 26

On that same day, Soldotna pro-lifers will join a national protest of Walgreens and CVS (which has also agreed to dispense abortion drugs). The March 26 protest is set to run 4-6 p.m. outside the Soldotna Walgreens (at the Soldotna Y). A separate protest is organized for Anchorage on the same day outside the Walgreens on Lake Otis & Tudor Walgreens. Organizers at both events will have a limited number of signs available on site, and attendees are welcome to make and bring their own.

“Soldotna and Kenai residents are keeping up the pressure on the Soldotna Walgreens,” said protest organizer Toby Burke, who has led weekly rallies outside the store for more than a month now. “We must be causing some heartburn with store management since the manager often comes out to see what we are up to, firsthand … Several patrons have stopped us to let us know they were changing pharmacies because they could not in good conscience patronize a baby-killing business. They thanked us for informing them about Walgreens selling the Kill Pill.”

Burke urged more pro-life advocates to join in the protest.

“In a perfect world we would have a presence in front of Walgreens six day per week, which would likely make this Walgreens store capitulate, but that is unlikely in this day and age as most ‘good’ people are content to watch from the sidelines and not engage in the titanic cosmic battle between the forces of Light and Darkness that seems to be intensifying day by day,” he said.

For more information about how to participate in the upcoming protest, call Burke at (907) 335-1558.

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