Arizona board to probe pharmacist’s denial of miscarriage drug

PEORIA, Ariz. — The Arizona State Board of Pharmacy will investigate the complaint of a woman who says a Walgreens pharmacist refused to give her medication necessary to end her pregnancy after her baby stopped developing.

The woman, who the Arizona Republic identified as Nicole Arteaga, described in a viral Facebook post how she was publicly humiliated when attempting to fill the prescription to end her pregnancy — a pregnancy she wanted, but needed to terminate because she would ultimately miscarry. She said the pharmacist refused to fill the prescription with other customers within earshot and she left the location in tears with her 7year-old child by her side.

Arteaga was able to fill her prescription at a different location later, and she filed a complaint with the Arizona State Board of Pharmacy.

Kam Gandhi, executive director at the board, said that the agency hasn’t talked to Arteaga or the pharmacist yet but will aim to do a full investigation before the board’s next meeting in August.

Arizona is one of six states that permit pharmacists to refuse to fill prescriptions on moral or religious grounds without requiring a referral or transfer of the prescription, according to the National Women’s Law Center. The law specifically mentions abortion medication or emergency contraception and says medical professionals, including pharmacists, must state their objection in writing.

Gandhi said that part of the law hasn’t been interpreted by the board before.

“Does it have to be presented to the patient, does it have to be at the store, or does it have to be in the pharmacist’s personnel file?” he said. “That’s what’s up in the air.”

Arteaga also said she contacted Walgreens’ corporate office.

On Twitter, some customers said they were taking their prescription business elsewhere. Walgreens pushed out multiple repeated responses Monday. In one, the company said it apologized to the patient about how the situation was handled. It also said it was looking into the matter further..

“Our policy allows pharmacists to step away from filling a prescription for which they have a moral objection,” the tweet read. “At the same time, they are also required to refer the prescription to another pharmacist or manager on duty to meet the patient’s needs in a timely manner.”

Gretchen Borchelt, the vice president of reproductive rights and health for the National Women’s Law Center, said it’s unclear how many women are affected by such laws because few may come forward like Arteaga did. Borchelt said her group has heard of women being denied prescriptions in at least 26 states since 2000.

“I think it’s happening more than people realize,” she said.