(TheProudRepublic.com) – In a tragic turn of events, a Las Vegas woman experienced the loss of her unborn child due to a grave error by CVS Pharmacy.
As reported by 8 News Now, Timika Thomas, facing challenges with conception, underwent in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and was prescribed a hormone intended to deceive her body into a state of pregnancy.
However, the experience quickly escalated into severe cramping, far beyond her expectations for the IVF procedure.
Thomas described the pain as “extreme” and “painful,” according to the news outlet.
The distressing cause was soon uncovered: the pharmacy had mistakenly dispensed an abortifacient instead of the correct medication, resulting in the termination of her pregnancy. Reflecting on the harrowing realization, Thomas shared with 8 News Now, “They just killed my baby.”
She pointed out a critical oversight by the pharmacy staff; they had failed to provide necessary consultation when she collected her prescription. Thomas suggested that such a step could have prevented the tragedy. “It would have been caught because then they would have had to have the medicine in their hand,” she explained. “And they would have said, ‘Oh, this is Misoprostol or Cytotec. Have you taken this before?’ And I would have said ‘no.'”
Responding to the incident that occurred in 2019, CVS extended an apology to Thomas and highlighted their cooperation with the Nevada Board of Pharmacy regarding the case. The company emphasized its commitment to patient safety and adherence to stringent policies to safeguard prescription dispensing. CVS assured that prescription errors are uncommon but acknowledged the importance of learning from such incidents to enhance patient care and safety.
The implicated pharmacists have had their licenses suspended temporarily, with the possibility of reinstatement contingent on the completion of additional education and payment of fines. The pharmacy board has imposed a fine of $10,000 on CVS. However, for Thomas, their apology fell short: “All I got was a sorry,” she lamented. “It will never be good enough.”
The situation arises amid evolving regulations concerning abortifacients. In January, retail pharmacies received FDA authorization to sell these drugs. CVS and Walgreens announced their intent to become certified distributors of the abortion pill mifepristone.
Meanwhile, a contingent of 20 Republican attorneys general cautioned that mail-order abortion pills could endanger women and contravene legal statutes, a stance challenged by the DOJ, which affirmed in January that such transactions do not infringe upon federal law and that these medications serve purposes beyond inducing abortion.
