Woman Claims Pharmacist Refused to Dispense Misoprostol for Miscarriage

A woman in Georgia claims a Walmart pharmacist refused to fill her misoprostol prescription for a miscarriage.

Brittany Cartrett first reported on Facebook that she had a miscarriage and chose to take the medication, which is often used to induce an abortion, en lieu of an invasive surgical procedure, according to WGXA.

Cartrett’s doctor sent the misoprostol prescription to a Walmart pharmacy in Milledgeville, Georgia, but the pharmacist on duty refused to fill it, according to the WGXA report.

Cartrett was able to obtain the treatment from another pharmacy, but she wondered why her local Walmart would not fill the prescription. The pharmacist told her, “I don’t feel like there is a reason why you would need it, so we refused to fill it,” according to Cartrett.

Walmart pharmacist Sandip Patel told WGXA he was “aware of the situation” and pointed out that pharmacists are allowed to turn down prescriptions.

“Our pharmacists fill prescriptions on a case-by-case basis every day in our stores throughout the country, and we encourage them to exercise their professional judgment in doing so,” Walmart representative Brian Nick told WGXA.

The Georgia Board of Pharmacy maintains its rules “protect a pharmacist who refuses to fill a prescription.” As the rule states, “It shall not be considered unprofessional conduct for any pharmacist to refuse to fill any prescription based on his/her professional judgment or ethical or moral beliefs.”

Conscience clauses like the Georgia pharmacy board’s were enacted following the US Supreme Court’s ruling in Roe v. Wade.