Kroger, Sam's Club push back on reports that they sell abortion pill
Two major retailers are insisting that they have no plans to sell the abortion pill after a report and their online catalogs indicated otherwise.
Kroger Foods, one of the largest supermarket chains in the United States, has pushed back on the assertion made by The Washington Stand and Live Action News in stories published last week that it was selling the abortion pill marketed as mifepristone in the U.S. at a significantly discounted price of $7 to members of the Kroger Health Savings Club.
Live Action News, the news arm of the pro-life activist organization Live Action, provided a screenshot of mifepristone's entry on the Kroger Health Savings Club website, which made it clear that the abortion pill is "used to end a pregnancy."
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The Washington Stand, affiliated with the Christian conservative group Family Research Council, published a follow-up story Monday after receiving a statement from the supermarket chain declaring that "The Kroger Company Family of Pharmacies do not carry Mifepristone, nor do we dispense it."
When the publication noted that the product was still listed on Kroger's Health Savings Club website, the retailer reiterated that it does not sell the abortion pill and maintained that it was "listed on the Kroger Health Savings Club site in error."
According to The Washington Stand, the listing remained on the site at 5 p.m. EST. TWS sent a further email acknowledging Kroger's response but also pointing out that the abortion drug webpage was still live. Several minutes later, Kroger responded, stating, 'The link that you are using is old.' By 8 a.m. the following morning, the mifepristone listing was removed."
Live Action News and The Washington Stand also reported that Sam's Club, a division of Walmart, has also begun selling mifepristone. Sam's Club sent the publications a response stating, "We use a third party vendor to aggregate medication pricing, and their tool provided incorrect information."
Live Action News updated its original story Wednesday, including the company's response. The update also highlighted how the drug search feature on the Sam's Club website has now been removed. Screenshots documenting the previous presence of the abortion pill on the website show that Sam's Club, unlike Kroger, had listed the potential side effects of the drug.
"Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, or dizziness may occur," the warning asserted. "Bleeding and cramping are expected during this treatment."
The section devoted to side effects also stressed that "Bleeding and spotting may last up to 30 days and may be much heavier than a normal period."
"In very few cases, this bleeding will need to be stopped by surgery," the site warned.
It urged women to "get medical help right away if you bleed enough to soak through 2 thick, full-size sanitary pads each hour for 2 hours in a row."
Additional possible side effects include a fever in excess of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit as well as "fainting, fast heartbeat, stomach/abdominal pain, or tenderness." The website acknowledged that "serious medical problems can occur when a pregnancy ends, including sometimes fatal infections and bleeding."
Concerns about the side effects of the abortion pill are one factor behind the efforts by pro-life organizations to oppose the push to make the drug more widely available.
Major U.S. retailers have begun to sell the abortion pill following the Food and Drug Administration's loosening of abortion pill restrictions in recent years under the Biden administration.
The pharmacy chains Walgreens and CVS have already started selling the abortion pill in certain states. Other retailers, including Walmart, Kroger's, Costco, McKesson and Albertson's have faced pressure to do so.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
