Texas Law Lets Pharmacists Deny Prescriptions For Moral Reasons

You might have seen the now-viral Facebook post in which an Arizona woman laments a pharmacist's decision to deny her drugs intended to induce a miscarriage on moral grounds.

As that Facebook post made its way into news stories across the country, Texans may have begun to wonder if their pharmacist could do the same thing. The short answer is yes.

The post, written by Nicole Mone Arteaga, has been shared more than 39,000 times in the four days since it was written. In the post, Arteaga wrote that her doctor informed her that her pregnancy had ended prematurely and that she was going to have a miscarriage. The doctor prescribed her drugs to expedite the miscarriage.

Arteaga said she went to have her prescription filled at a Walgreens store in Peoria, Arizona, where she encountered a road block — a pharmacist who refused to fill her prescription.

"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," Arteaga wrote on social media. "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."

When asked on Twitter, Walgreens shared its policy regarding pharmacists' authority in its stores.

"Our policy allows pharmacists to step away from filling a prescription for which they have a moral objection," the pharmacy chain wrote. "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."

Texas law mimics Walgreens' policy and allows pharmacists to deny prescriptions they deem morally reprehensible.

House Bill 2561, which Texas governor Greg Abbott signed into law in September 2017, dictates the way pharmacists go about their jobs.

Its intent was to allow pharmacists to refuse to serve patients suspected of abusing prescription drugs, the Dallas Morning News reported. But wording added by Texas house representative Matt Krause of Fort Worth allowed pharmacists to refuse to fill prescriptions for moral and religious reasons.

Moreover, Texas senator Van Taylor of Plano added an exclusive authority amendment, which gives pharmacists full authority when denying a prescription.

Similarly, Arizona state law doesn't prohibit pharmacists from refusing to fill prescriptions as long as they have moral objection. In fact, Arizona pharmacists are not even required to transfer the prescription to another pharmacist to help them get their medicine. Walgreens' policy, however, does.

There were other pharmacists at the Walgreens on Thursday who should have been able to fill the prescription, Arteaga says. Walgreens said they are "looking into the matter to ensure that our patients' needs are handled properly."

Walgreens says somebody reached out to Arteaga to apologize, but she said she hasn't gotten any such call.

Kelli Garica, director of reproductive justice initiatives for the National Women’s Law Center, told The News such rejections from pharmacists can leave the patient feeling shamed.

“From the patient’s perspective, we expect providers to put our care first and make decisions based on what’s medically needed,” she told the newspaper. “...When providers are able to use their religious and moral beliefs to make decisions about health care, they are using those beliefs to determine what care people need. And that is really troubling to me.”

According to the National Women's Law Center, eight states explicitly require pharmacists to provide medication to patients without regard to his or her religious beliefs. Those are California, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, Washington and Wisconsin.

Seven states, meanwhile, allow pharmacists to refuse prescriptions but still require that the prescription be transferred to another pharmacist willing to comply. Those are Alabama, Delaware, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Texas.

Eight other states, including Arizona, allow pharmacists to refuse prescriptions for religious and moral reasons without any protections for patients, such as requirements to refer or transfer prescriptions. Those are Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Mississippi and South Dakota.

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