“I wanted a baby; I didn’t want to lose a baby,” Ms. Peterson said. “I felt ashamed, and I didn’t have to tell him that information but I thought, for my safety, to be able to have children again, this was an important step to take. And he denied that to me.”

Mr. Kalkman could not be reached for comment.

Christina Fecher, a spokeswoman for Meijer, said in a statement that Mr. Kalkman “has not been employed by Meijer since early July 2018.” The statement continued, “While we cannot comment on any pharmacy customer matter, we apologize for any customer experience that does not align with our core values.”

Ms. Fecher said that pharmacists at Meijer who decline to fill a prescription for religious reasons must either arrange for the prescription to be filled by another pharmacist in the store or transfer the prescription to another convenient pharmacy, and any failure to do so “is in violation of our process.”

It is also a violation of the guidelines set forth by the Michigan Pharmacists Association, a professional organization of which Mr. Kalkman was not a member. But Michigan law does not bar pharmacists from engaging in conscientious objection, said Larry Wagenknecht, the chief executive of the organization.

Dr. Sarah Horvath, a family planning fellow at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, described miscarriage as a “painful and messy process.”

Oftentimes, she said, women choose to use misoprostol because it is more autonomous, discreet and self-directed than other methods.

“Some women derive empowerment from a situation where they might otherwise feel helpless,” she said.