Newsom ends California's contract with Walgreens over abortion drug dispute: 'We're done'
Walgreens said Newsom's reasoning was based off of "false and misleading information"
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California is opting not to renew a $54 million contract with Walgreens in protest of the business's decision to not dispense abortion drugs in certain states, Governor Gavin Newsom announced.
Walgreen's decision was announced last week after the company was being threatened with legal action by 20 Republican attorneys general if Walgreens sold abortion pills in their states.
The drug in question, mifepristone, can cause an abortion in the first 10 weeks of pregnancy if used with misoprostol.
Mifepristone dilates the cervix and blocks a necessary hormone to carry a pregnancy.
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The attorneys general represented Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia.
"We’re serious about not investing in companies that cave to the extremist agenda of the @GOP," Newsom said on Twitter Wednesday, after previously accusing the Walgreens of "caving to extremists" and "putting women’s lives at risk."
In an interview with POLITICO, Newsom touted the strength of California's economy and asserted that the Sunshine State is larger than all the aforementioned states combined.
"Ironically, we’re the size of 21 states’ populations combined," Newsom said. "And likely, when the dust settles, we’ll be the fourth-largest economy in the world. So, we have, we believe, moral authority, but we also have formal authority and will exercise it in partnership with the Legislature, and in the absence of that, through executive action."
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Mifepristone (Mifeprex), one of the two drugs used in a medication abortion, is displayed at the Women's Reproductive Clinic, which provides legal medication abortion services, in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, on June 15, 2022. (ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Walgreens told Fox News Digital that Newsom's reasoning was based off of "false and misleading information."
"We are deeply disappointed by the decision by the state of California not to renew our longstanding contract due to false and misleading information," a spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "Walgreens is facing the same circumstances as all retail pharmacies, and no other retail pharmacies have said that they would approach this situation differently, so it’s unclear where this contract would now be moved."
Walgreens also added that they intend to dispense mifepristone in any district where it is legally permissable.
ANTIOCH, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 11: California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks to reporters during a visit the Antioch Water Treatment Plant on August 11, 2022. ((Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) / Getty Images)
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"Providing legally approved medications to patients is what pharmacies do, and is rooted in our commitment to the communities in which we operate," the statement added.