Pharmacies risk violating civil rights laws if they deny access to drugs that can be used for abortion, HHS says

The Health and Human Services Department on Wednesday warned U.S. retail pharmacies that they risk violating civil rights law if they deny access to medication used in abortions under certain circumstances.

The HHS Office for Civil Rights said pharmacies cannot deny access to prescription medication used for reproductive health care on the basis of the customer’s sex, pregnancy status and other protected groups under federal discrimination laws.

This may include the prescription of the abortion pill, mifepristone used in combination with misoprostol, to assist with first-trimester miscarriages. The medication can also be used to terminate an unwanted pregnancy, according to HHS guidance issued to the nation’s 60,000 retail pharmacies.

HHS also said pharmacies risk violating civil rights law if they refuse to fill a prescription for methotrexate to halt ectopic pregnancies.