Arizona Walgreens pharmacist denies mother miscarriage medicine because of moral objection

Bree Burkitt and Cydney Henderson | The Arizona Republic

Show Caption Hide Caption Nicole Arteaga talks about a Walgreens pharmacist denying to give her a prescription After a miscarriage, Nicole Arteaga had a doctor prescription filled at Walgreens. She went to pick it up, the pharmacist refused to give it to her.

Nicole Arteaga wanted nothing more than to be a mother again.

But doctors gave the 35-year-old mother heartbreaking news during her 10-week pregnancy checkup.

The baby's development had stopped. There was no heartbeat. The pregnancy would end with a miscarriage — a pain Arteaga has faced before.

Grieving, Arteaga went to her local Walgreens in Peoria, Ariz. on Thursday to pick up medication prescribed by a doctor to manage her health and the miscarriage by terminating the pregnancy.

Instead, Arteaga was turned away, without the medicine she needed.

A Walgreens pharmacist refused to fill the prescription, she said.

“I don't have control over my body and I don’t have control of the situation," Arteaga said. "I was seeking help for the medication I needed and he refused."

"I completely lost it and was in tears.”

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What happened?

Arteaga walked into the Walgreens at Peoria and 91st avenues on Thursday with her 7-year-old son to grab dinner, choose a movie and pick up the medications prescribed by her doctor.

The day before, she learned her pregnancy would end in a miscarriage.

Arteaga said she opted to take prescription medication instead of undergoing an invasive medical procedure.

“I didn't want to need those pills," Arteaga said. "This is not how I wanted my pregnancy to go, but this is my situation."

An already difficult reality soon took another complicated turn when the pharmacist refused to fill the order from her doctor.

“I stood at the mercy of this pharmacist explaining my situation in front of my 7-year-old, and five customers behind only to be denied because of his ethic(al) beliefs,” she wrote in a Facebook post that as of Saturday evening had already been shared nearly 19,000 times and garnered nearly 8,000 comments.

Arteaga said the he did not explain any further. Despite two other pharmacists working behind the counter, she said, he told her she could come back the next night or go to another pharmacy to see if they would fill the prescription.

She struggled to tell the pharmacist why she needed this medication with her young son standing beside her.

“His mind was pretty much made up,” Arteaga said. “I tried to explain to him. I have to take this medication because it is an undeveloping fetus inside of me and he still refused, standing there silent and looking at me.”

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She said the embarrassment added to the emotions she is experiencing after losing a child.

“I couldn’t believe what he was telling me,” Arteaga said. “He has no idea what it's like to want nothing more than to carry a child to full term and be unable to do so.”

Her husband was met with the same response when he returned to the store to try to explain their situation.

"He wasn't compassionate about it," J.R. Arteaga said. "He didn't seem to care what we were going through already."

Arteaga later learned the pharmacist sent her prescription to another Walgreens location. She was able to pick up the medication with no issues Saturday.

Walgreens responds, explains 'moral objection'

Walgreens said in a statement Saturday that pharmacists are allowed to step away from filling a prescription anytime they have a moral objection under company policy.

Employees are required to refer the prescription to another pharmacist or manager to ensure the needs of the patient are met "in a timely manner."

Arteaga explained that there were other pharmacists at the Walgreens when the man denied filling her prescription, yet he did not refer her medical needs to another employee.

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"We are looking into the matter to ensure that our patients' needs are handled properly," the statement said.

A representative for Walgreens said someone reached out to Arteaga to apologize for how the situation was handled.

Arteaga disputed the company's statement, saying the only time she spoke to anyone from the company was when she called the manager of the Peoria store to complain.

The manager did not offer an apology at the time, she said.

Walgreens later told The Arizona Republic, after Arteaga's dispute was brought to their attention, that a representative will reach out to her Saturday evening

Arteaga has also filed a complaint with the Arizona State Board of Pharmacy.

Is this legal?

The laws governing pharmacies vary from state to state.

In 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up a challenge to a Washington state law that made it illegal for pharmacies to refuse to dispense medications based on religious grounds.

But, according to the National Women's Law Center, the pharmacist was within his rights.

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Arizona laws specifically allow pharmacies and pharmacists to refuse to fill a prescription for religious or moral reasons.

The pharmacy isn't required to refer or transfer any refused prescriptions. However, companies may make workplace polices for employees who choose to work for the business.

'I experienced something no woman should ever have to'

Arteaga first shared her frustrations online Thursday night by writing a review for the Walgreens pharmacy on Yelp.

The comment about her experience unknowingly posted on her Facebook page, which she deleted upon discovery.

But the accidental posting brought messages of support and tales of similar experiences from multiple friends.

“I had a friend who reached out and told me not to be ashamed or embarrassed. That she too had left a pharmacy with the same feelings,” Arteaga said. “She helped me realize that my feelings were valid … that this might be something that is happening to others and it’s not OK.”

Overcome with emotion, Arteaga did something she normally doesn’t do during a sleepless night: She shared her story on Facebook Friday.

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“I experienced something no woman should ever have to,” she wrote.

Her account of the incident was met with thousands of sympathetic comments from other mothers who had lost a child. Others shared their own stories of being denied access to similar drugs.

She said the reactions validated her beliefs that she had been wronged.

"No one should have to go through this, but it was comforting to know I'm not the only one," she said.

Arteaga says she wants her “humiliating” experience to help other pharmacists better understand the effect of their actions.

“I honestly hope that a pharmacist who is indecisive in the same situation (will) think how their personal choices to deny people medication can be more impactful than they may think or be able to see,” she said.

Follow Bree Burkitt and Cydney Henderson on Twitter @breeburkitt and @CydHenderson