Duckworth calls on FTC to look into abortion pill distributor
Luke Gentile
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Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) called on the Federal Trade Commission on Monday to look into abortion pill distributor AmerisourceBergen for its supposed refusal to distribute Mifeprex to pharmacies in select states.
According to the senator, AmerisourceBergen has been taking advantage of the debate surrounding the abortion pill, which has been catalyzed since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, to increase its profits.
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The company “may be using broader political disagreements and active legal debates as pretextual cover and justification for engaging in anticompetitive, unfair and deceptive practices that are primarily concerned with maximizing profit margins,” the senator said in a letter to FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan.
AmerisourceBergen is the only distributor of Mifeprex, which is the brand name for mifepristone, one of the two abortion medications approved by the Food and Drug Administration, according to a report.
The distributor cannot “independently decide what medications should be available to health care professionals as part of their treatment plans,” according to an AmerisourceBergen statement, nor does it “make clinical decisions or values-based judgements on which FDA approved products it distributes.”
AmerisourceBergen spokeswoman Lauren Esposito also reiterated the sentiment shared in the statement.
“The legality of access at retail pharmacies, which only became available in any capacity following a January 2023 FDA decision, is dynamic and rapidly evolving in individual states based on nuances in state laws and regulations that are under regular pressure from legal challenges,” she said.
“AmeriSourceBergen will continue distributing to all sites of care — including retail pharmacies — in a way that’s consistent with the law,” Esposito said.
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Mifeprex can be acquired in all 50 states through certified providers, according to Esposito.
“The bottom line is that a major wholesale distributor with market dominance over a product that retail pharmacies may wish to purchase, appears to be using its monopolistic market power to conspire against doing business with an entire industry of retail pharmacies,” the senator said.