Costco Wholesale announced on Thursday that it will not sell mifepristone, which kills babies by suffocation in the womb.
In a statement to Reuters, a Costco spokesman said, “Our position at this time not to sell mifepristone, which has not changed, is based on the lack of demand from our members and other patients, who we understand generally have the drug dispensed by their medical providers.”
Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Michael Ross celebrated the announcement stating, “We applaud Costco for doing the right thing by its shareholders and resisting activist calls to sell abortion drugs. Retailers like Costco keep their doors open by selling a lifetime of purchases to families, both large and small. They have nothing to gain and much to lose by becoming abortion dispensaries. Retail pharmacies exist to serve the health and wellness of their customers, but abortion drugs like mifepristone undermine that mission by putting women’s health at risk.”
Additionally, he credited the work his organization did with others to pressure Costco to ensure they would not sell the dangerous drug, “We’re honored to work alongside the many like-minded partners who made this moment possible—including Inspire Investing and public officials like state financial officers, who put the deeply held values and fiduciary needs of their clients first and simply call upon the companies they own to do the same.”
Similarly, Students for Life Action President Kristan Hawkins stated, “Costco’s decision not to sell abortion pills is a major win for life. It sends a powerful message that not every corporation is willing to profit from the destruction of unborn lives.”
Students for Life of America Vice President Kristi Hamrick also stated, “We are thrilled that Costco has chosen to prioritize life and avoid the moral and legal complications of distributing abortion pills. This is a step toward protecting both the unborn and the health of women who might otherwise face the dangers of these drugs.”
As noted by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, mifepristone, whose brand name is Mifeprex “was not developed as a treatment or cure, but to end a child’s life.”
They explain the drug works by blocking “progesterone, a hormone essential to maintaining pregnancy. This leads to the breakdown of the uterine lining and cuts off the child’s supply of oxygen and nutrients. Mifepristone alone will usually kill the developing child, but his or her remains may not be expelled. This can lead to infection, sepsis, and even the mother’s death.”
As for the risks, the Bishops note that between September 2000 and December 2022 32 women died. Additionally, as of 2016, the FDA reported that there were a total of “4,218 adverse events, including 1,049 hospitalizations (excluding deaths), 604 cases of blood loss requiring transfusions, 97 ectopic pregnancies, and 418 infections (75 of them ‘severe’).”
They also note that “Finnish study found a nearly ‘fourfold higher’ incidence of adverse events for chemical abortions compared to surgical abortions, reporting that incidence as 20%. Risk of hemorrhage was nearly eight times higher, at 15.6%.”
What a sickening "drug."
Based not selling this demon drug.
Amusingly a number of pharmacy chains that DID apparently sell it have since gone out of business.