Walgreens faces pressure over religious contractors: SSM Health, a Catholic healthcare system based in St. Louis, will open 27 new express health clinics inside Walgreens stores in Missouri and Illinois. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), MergerWatch, and National Health Law Program authored joint letters to Walgreens and SSM to flag the health provider’s religious tenets. SSM adheres to the Ethical and Religious Directives from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which protects the health and wellbeing of the unborn. The protesting groups want a meeting with Walgreens to make sure the new clinics do not create a roadblock for women seeking to terminate their pregnancies.