An Arizona woman claims that a Walgreens pharmacist denied to give her a medication to end pregnancy, and this had something to do with the pharmacist's ethical beliefs.
Pregnancy Likely To End In Miscarriage
In a Facebook post, which has so far been liked 54,000 times and shared 33,000 times, Nicole Mone shared that she went to Walgreens in Peoria, which is about 13 miles northwest of Phoenix, to pick up her prescription.
Unfortunately, the pharmacist refused to provide her the medication because it was against his personal beliefs.
A few days earlier, Mone learned from her doctors that she was going to have a miscarriage. She said that the baby's development stopped and she will eventually have a miscarriage. Mone said that she already had a miscarriage before.
She was offered the option to go through a hospital procedure, or take prescribed medicine to terminate her two-month pregnancy. She opted for the latter but when she went to pick up the prescription, the pharmacist denied her the meds because of his ethical beliefs. She said that she left the pharmacy crying, ashamed, and feeling humiliated by the pharmacist.
Her prescription was transferred to another Walgreens pharmacy, where she was able to pick up the medication without any issue.
"I am unsure where Walgreens draws the lines with their pharmacist but does this mean he denies women the right to birth control and morning after pill, and what's the stance with fertility drugs," she wrote on social media. "I share this story because I wish no other women have to go thru something like this at time when you are vulnerable and already suffering."
Walgreen's Company Policy
Walgreens said that the company policy actually allows pharmacists to step away from filling prescriptions for which they have personal objection. Nonetheless, they are required to refer the prescription to the manager or another pharmacist.
Mone said that this is not what happened in her case citing that the pharmacist could have referred her to the lady standing next to him but he did not do this.
The prescription was transferred to another store, and she picked it up there after asking for her doctor's help to ensure that the drug store would give the medication to her.
Walgreens said that it was looking into the matter. The company also said that it had reached out to Mone and apologized for what happened.
"After learning what happened, we reached out to the patient and apologized for how the situation was handled," Walgreens said. "We are looking into the matter to ensure that our patients' needs are handled properly."
