Walgreens Miscarriage Medication Refusal Controversy

Overview

Walgreens Miscarriage Medication Refusal Controversy refers to an incident in which a customer of a Walgreens pharmacy in Peoria, Arizona claims that a pharmacist denied her medication for forced miscarriage. The denial led to various responses and outrage online.

Background

On June 22nd, 2018, Walgreens customer Nicole Arteaga described on Instagram ^[1] an incident in which she had been denied medication from a pharmacist at a Walgreens pharmacy in Peoria, Arizona. Arteaga, who had been told by doctors that her unborn child had stopped developing, had been prescribed medication that would induce miscarriage, but when she went to fill the prescription, the pharmacist refused to serve her "because of his ethical beliefs." She said:

"Last night I went to pick up my medication at my local Walgreens only to be denied the prescription I need. 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. I get it we all have our beliefs. But what he failed to understand is this isn’t the situation I had hoped for, this isn’t something I wanted. This is something I have zero control over. He has no idea what its like to want nothing more than to carry a child to full term and be unable to do so.

"I left Walgreens in tears, ashamed and feeling humiliated by a man who knows nothing of my struggles but feels it is his right to deny medication prescribed to me by my doctor. 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. 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. I am in left in disbelief on how this can happen? How is this okay? I can’t be the only one who has gone thru this."

When posted to Facebook, ^[2] the story received more than 39,000 shares, 65,000 reactions and 17,000 comments.

Developments

Update

On June 23rd, Arteaga updated the story, stating that she was able to fill the prescription at a Walgreens across town. She also wrote that she had filed complaints with Arizona Board of Pharmacy and Walgreen's corporate office.

"After I walked out of Walgreens Thursday night without my prescription I received email notification that my prescription was ready at location across town. Brian H. ultimately had it transferred to another location that had it in stock after I had left upset. Yesterday morning I went to my see my Dr for his help in making sure that pharmacist at the second location would give it me. I picked up my prescription from that Walgreens with no problems.

"I called and spoke to store manager who did not seem happy about what had happened. I have contacted Walgreens corporate office. I have filed a complaint with the Arizona Board of Pharmacy. At this time I have done what I can to report the situation. Thank you to those who have shown love and support."

Yelp Review

In addition to publishing the story on Facebook and Instagram, Arteaga also posted a one-star review on Yelp. ^[3] Following the post, Yelp posted a disclaimer for users looking to post on the Walgreens's Yelp page. They warned users, "Your posts to this page may be removed as part of our cleanup process beginning Tuesday, June 26, 2018."

Walgreens Response

On June 24th, 2018, Walgreens explained on Twitter the policy regarding the moral objections of pharmacists. They wrote,^[4] "Our policy allows pharmacists to step away from filling a prescription for which they have a moral objection. At the same time, they are also required to refer the prescription to another pharmacist or manager on duty to meet the patient's needs in a timely manner." The post (shown below) received more than 450 retweets and 1,100 likes in two days.

Online Reaction

Following the viral spread of the Facebook post and Walgreens response, people online began commenting on the situation. That day, Twitter^[5] user @shannonrwatts tweeted, "How long would it take me to become a Walgreens pharmacist? I want to see the looks on men’s faces when I ask them loudly in front of other customers if they’re impotent and then refuse to prescribe erectile dysfunction drugs because I’m morally opposed." The post (shown below, left) received more than 8,200 retweets and 29,000 likes in two days.

Throughout the day, more Twitter users condemned the actions of the pharmacist (examples below, center and right).

On June 24th, Redditor ^[6] elder65 posted about the incident on the /r/atheism subreddit. They said of the incident, "I guess I just added Walgreens to my list of stores to avoid." The post received more than 9,200 upvotes (89% upvoted) and 1,000 comments in two days. Additionally, the incident was posted in various other subreddits including /r/neutralnews,^[7] /r/politics,^[8] /r/DeFranco^[9] and more.

Media Coverage

Several media outlets covered the story, including The Daily Dot, ^[10] Uproxx,^[11] The Washington Post,^[12] CNN^[13] and more.

On June 25th, Arteaga was interviewed on CNN. The video (shown below) has been viewed more than 23,000 times since posting.

Search Interest

External References