SEN. ANWAR RELEASES STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO WALGREENS' DECISION TO END SALES OF ORAL CONTRACEPTIVE PILLS IN MORE THAN 20 STATES

Today, State Senator Saud Anwar (D-South Windsor), the Senate Chair of the Public Health Committee, released the following statement in response to Walgreens, the nation's second-largest pharmacy, announcing this week that it will not sell oral contraceptive pills in more than 20 states where Republican attorneys general have threatened legal action:

"At a time when women's access to contraceptives is under fire, for Walgreens to make this decision in the name of legal threats is very disappointing," said Sen. Anwar. "In many states, this will only further contribute to a desert of reproductive options for women, and will not only harm access but may lead to women themselves being harmed. In some states, these pills will remain legally accessible, but Walgreens has made the decision that its customers should not be able to access them. And this decision comes as the company's competitors have not followed suit. I hope the company revisits this decision with an outcome more amicable to reproductive health."