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An Arizona mother was "humiliated" by a Walgreens pharmacist who refused to fill her prescription for an abortion drug because it went against her "ethical convictions".
Nicole Arteaga's tragedy unfolded during her 10-week health checkup when she learned that her unborn child no longer had a heartbeat, reported the AZ Central.
Knowing a miscarriage was inevitable, she opted to take the drug Misoprostol – instead of undergoing a procedure known as a dilatation and curettage – to help her body expel the dead fetus.
"I did not want to need these pills," said Arteaga, 35, at AZ Central. "It's not like that that I wanted my pregnancy to go, but that's my situation."
But when she went to Walgreens on Friday with her seven-year-old son, the pharmacist behind the counter refused her the drug.
"His mind was rather done," said Arteaga. "I tried to explain to him, I have to take this medicine because it's a developing fetus inside me and he always refused, standing there silently and looking at me."
The mother in tears left the store in tears and recounted her experience in a Facebook post on Friday that has since become viral.
"I stood at the mercy of this pharmacist who explained my situation in front of my seven-year-old child, and five customers who stood behind to be refused because of his ethical convictions," wrote Arteaga. "I understand that we all have our beliefs, but what he did not understand is that it's not the situation I had hoped for, this n & # 39; It's not something I wanted.
"It's something that I have no control over."
Arteaga said the pharmacist transferred his medicine to a store across the city. She picked it up on Saturday – and then filed a complaint with the Arizona Board of Pharmacy.
"I left Walgreens in tears, shamed and humiliated by a man who knows nothing of my difficulties but who believes he has the right to refuse the medications prescribed by my doctor," she said on Facebook. "How are you? I can not be the only one to have been there."
Walgreens said the pharmacist's actions were not entirely false, according to WTSP 10 News.
"To respect the sincere beliefs of our pharmacists while meeting the needs of our patients, our policy allows pharmacists not to fill a prescription for which they have a moral objection," the company said in a statement.
"At the same time, they are also required to refer the prescription to another pharmacist or service manager to meet the needs of the patient in a timely manner.We are reviewing the issue to ensure that the needs of our patients are well managed."
The pharmacy giant said that he asked Arteaga to apologize for "how the situation was handled".
Under the Arizona State Law, pharmacies and pharmacists are allowed to refuse to fill an order for religious or moral reasons and are not required to refer or transfer the prescription. ;order.
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