Pharmacy chain will not sell abortion pills in 20 US states

Boxes of the drug mifepristone sit on a shelf at the West Alabama Women’s Centre in Tuscaloosa (Allen G Breed/AP)

Walgreens says it will not start selling an abortion pill in 20 US states that had warned of legal consequences if it did so.

The pharmacy chain’s announcement signals that access to mifepristone may not expand as broadly as federal regulators intended in January, when they finalised a rule change allowing more pharmacies to provide the pill.