HHS warns pharmacies denying abortion pills violates anti-discrimination law

The Biden administration is warning retail pharmacies against denying patients abortion-inducing medication, saying this would violate anti-discrimination laws by withholding healthcare from pregnant people.

The Department of Health and Human Services’s Office for Civil Rights has released guidelines reinforcing the Obamacare law that warns more than 60,000 U.S. pharmacies against refusing to dispense abortion-inducing medication, stipulating that doing so is pregnancy discrimination. That includes discrimination based on current pregnancy, past pregnancy, potential or intended pregnancy, and medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth.

“HHS is committed to ensuring that everyone can access healthcare, free of discrimination,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said. “This includes access to prescription medication —including birth control, miscarriage management, and medication abortion from their pharmacy.”