NBC

Citing Moral Objections, Walgreens Pharmacist Denies Woman Miscarriage Drug

Nicole Artega's baby had stopped development, and her doctor had told her the pregnancy would end in a miscarriage

A woman says a pharmacist denied her doctor's prescription for miscarriage medications to end her 10-week-old pregnancy based on moral grounds.

Nicole Artega's baby had stopped development, and her doctor had told her the pregnancy would end in a miscarriage. Her doctor gave her two options: have a surgery, or have get a prescription for the medication and take it at home.

"I can't even... the feelings," Arteaga told NBC affiliate KPNX, holding back tears. "It's hard when you find out you're not going to have a baby anymore."

But when she walked into a Walgreens pharmacy in Peoria, Arizona, on Thursday, the 35-year-old mother said the pharmacist told he couldn't fill the prescription because of moral and ethical reservations.

"I stood at the mercy of this pharmacist explaining my situation in front of my 7 year old, five customers standing behind me only to be denied because of his ethical beliefs," Artega wrote in a Facebook post published Friday.

Artega said that the pharmacist failed to understand she had "zero control" over the situation and she left Walgreens "in tears, ashamed and feeling humiliated."

Artega later learned the pharmacist had sent her prescription to another Walgreens.

The Arizona Republic reports Walgreens says pharmacists are not required to fill prescriptions if they have moral objections. However, they are required to refer those prescriptions to another pharmacist or manager.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us