In the weeks since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, pharmacies across the country have refused to fill certain prescriptions that are the same as or similar to the drugs used in medication abortion. But many of these drugs are used for miscarriage care and ectopic pregnancies, as well as for unrelated health issues like arthritis and stomach ulcers.
The Department of Health and Human Services issued a memo on Wednesday in which it reminded pharmacists at the 60,000 pharmacies that receive federal dollars that they are obligated under federal civil rights law to ensure access to comprehensive reproductive health care services and administer prescribed medication — regardless of whether the recipient is pregnant or able to get pregnant.
The HHS guidance points to several sections of the Affordable Care Act that ensure pharmacies cannot discriminate against customers “with regard to supplying medications; making determinations regarding the suitability of a prescribed…
