Attorney General James Acts to Protect Access to Reproductive Health Care at Major NYC Pharmacies
AG James reminds CVS and Walgreens that the refusal of New Yorkers
Access to reproductive health services is illegal in New York
NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James has taken action to protect New Yorkers’ access to prescriptions and reproductive health products at CVS and Walgreens pharmacies. Workers at CVS and Walgreens stores in other states have reportedly refused to provide customers with contraceptives, condoms, emergency contraceptives, and/or other reproductive health medications. Attorney General James sent letters to CVS and Walgreens reminding retail drugstore giants that it is illegal in New York to deny customers prescription or over-the-counter drugs or products related to reproductive health care .
“Pharmacies have a responsibility to protect the health of New Yorkers, including providing medicines and reproductive health products,” said Attorney General James. “The actions taken by some CVS and Walgreens employees in other states have raised nationwide concerns and raised serious questions that need to be addressed. Let’s be clear: I will not accept that New Yorkers be denied access to essential health products and services. I am proud to defend the reproductive rights of New Yorkers and will always fight to preserve access to birth control and other reproductive health medications and options.
New Yorkers looking for birth control or other reproductive health products at these two major chains are entitled to receive these essential products. Reports from other states indicate that some CVS and Walgreens employees have refused to provide reproductive health products or services, and some Walgreens employees have even abused consumers by publicly harassing, embarrassing and humiliating them. . In his letters, Attorney General James makes it clear that similar behavior by CVS or Walgreens employees at any of their more than 1,000 locations in New York State is a violation of privacy laws. New York Public Health and Civil Rights.
Attorney General James is asking that CVS and Walgreens provide more information about their opt-out policies, which Walgreens says allow pharmacists to withhold a prescription for which they have a moral objection. It seems that the policy, in practice, can infringe on the rights of New Yorkers. Attorney General James is also asking Walgreens and CVS to provide more information about:
- The time that CVS and Walgreens consider “opportune” to fulfill an order or complete a sales transaction in the event of a decline.
- Training companies regarding denials and related policies.
- All records indicating whether CVS and Walgreens are tracking declines and/or whether such prescriptions and over-the-counter sales were filled and/or completed in a “timely” manner.
- All complaints about CVS and Walgreens denials at New York sites over the past six years.
Attorney General James has been a leader in the fight to protect abortion rights and access to reproductive health care. In June, Attorney General James asked Google to correct search results that directed people seeking abortions to unsafe and misleading anti-abortion clinics in New York. Last week, the attorney general praised the fact that, following his letter, Google has fixed this problem and improved its search results. In May, Attorney General James supported state legislation to establish a state program to provide financial resources to abortion providers in New York and called for a New York State Constitutional Amendment guaranteeing the right to abortion.
Attorney General James recently launched a pro bono legal hotline to provide legal advice and resources to patients, healthcare providers and supporters seeking information about their legal rights to access and provide abortions. The hotline is free and available in the 12 most commonly spoken languages in New York. To access the hotline, dial (212) 899-5567. For more information, go to https://ag.ny.gov/reproductivehealth
This case is being handled by Assistant Attorney General Jason L. Meizlish of the Office of Consumer Protection and Fraud and Assistant Attorney General Nancy Trasande of the Office of Civil Rights. The Consumer Frauds and Protection Bureau is headed by Bureau Chief Jane M. Azia and Deputy Bureau Chief Laura J. Levine and is part of the Economic Justice Division, which is headed by Chief Deputy Attorney General Chris D’Angelo. The Civil Rights Office is headed by Deputy Bureau Chief Travis England and is part of the Social Justice Division, which is headed by Chief Deputy Attorney General Meghan Faux. The Economic Justice Division and the Social Justice Division are overseen by Senior Deputy Attorney General Jennifer Levy.
