An Arizona woman said she was denied miscarriage medication by a pharmacist at a Walgreens in Peoria who said it went against his personal beliefs. (Google Earth)
An Arizona woman whose doctor told her she would miscarry said she was deeply upset after a Walgreens pharmacist refused to provide her with medication to induce an abortion because it went against his personal beliefs.
Nicole Mone took to Facebook Friday to explain that just days earlier, her doctor had said she was going to suffer a miscarriage.
"Unfortunately on Tuesday we found out the baby's development had stopped and I ultimately will have a miscarriage," Mone, who said she'd had a miscarriage before, wrote.
When offered the option of undergoing a hospital procedure or taking prescribed medicine, Mone accepted the latter.
KENTUCKY SUES WALGREENS, CLAIMS IT HAS ROLE IN OPIOID EPIDEMIC
The woman went to Walgreens in Peoria, roughly 13 miles northwest of Phoenix, to pick up her prescription, but said the pharmacist refused to give her the meds.
"I stood at the mercy of this pharmacist explaining my situation in front of my 7 year old, and five customers standing behind only to be denied because of his ethical beliefs," Mone wrote.
Mone, who said she "left Walgreens in tears, ashamed and feeling humiliated by a man who knows nothing of my struggles," said her prescription was transferred to another Walgreens across town, where she was able to pick it up without issue.
The mother said she contacted the store manager "who did not seem happy about what happened," and also reached out to Walgreens' corporate office. Mone said she also filed a complaint with the Arizona Board of Pharmacy.
Walgreens company policy, according to Fox 10, allows pharamacists to reject prescription requests if they have moral objections, but they're still required to refer the prescriptions to other pharmacists or managers on duty.
Walgreens in a statement said the company was "looking into the matter to ensure that our patients' needs are handled properly."