ACLU: Michigan pharmacist refused to fill woman's prescription for miscarriage

American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan files complaint

American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan said it filed a complaint with Meijer after a pharmacist refused to fill a customer's prescription that was prescribed to her to treat a miscarriage.

In July, Rachel Peterson’s doctor called in a prescription to the Petoskey Meijer pharmacy for medication that would treat her recent miscarriage, according to the ACLU.

The Meijer pharmacist refused to fill her prescription, and allegedly said “as a good Catholic male,” he could not “in good conscience fill the prescription” because he believed it was her intention to use it to end a pregnancy.

Update: Michigan pharmacist who wouldn’t fill miscarriage drug no longer works for Meijer

Peterson told him that her doctor found no signs of life in the fetus and he allegedly accused her of lying, according to the ACLU.

“When you’re at one of the lowest moments of your life, you don’t expect this sort of demeaning treatment,” Rachel Peterson told the ACLU. “A pharmacy should not be able to deny patients medication prescribed by their doctors based on the personal beliefs of a particular employee.”

The pharmacist also allegedly refused to let Peterson speak to another pharmacist or transfer her prescription to another pharmacy. Peterson was eventually able to leave Petoskey and obtain the medication at a Meijer pharmacy in Ionia.


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Kayla is a Web Producer for ClickOnDetroit. Before she joined the team in 2018 she worked at WILX in Lansing as a digital producer.