Denying Abortion Medication Could Violate Civil Rights Laws, Biden Admin Tells Pharmacies
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The Biden administration is telling pharmacies nationwide that refusing to provide abortion medication could violate federal law.
The Department of Health and Human Services is notifying the country's roughly 60,000 retail pharmacies that they risk violating civil rights laws if they don't fill orders for contraception or abortion medication, on the grounds that such refusals would amount to discrimination against a pregnant woman. Some pharmacies in states where abortion is now illegal are reportedly refusing to fill prescriptions for abortion and contraception pills, as well as other medications suspected of being used to terminate a pregnancy. "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."
Coverage from right-rated outlets often described the HHS guidelines as a "warning," and framed federal efforts to ensure abortion access and provide resources in a negative light. One report from Washington Examiner highlighted how the guidelines don't mention the Obamacare-established exception "for pharmacists who object to medication abortion on religious or moral grounds." Coverage from left- and center-rated outlets often described the guidelines as a "reminder," and focused more on potential consequences for women who may be denied abortion medication. One report from Politico highlighted pro-choice activists who said the guidelines are "too vague to give confidence to doctors in states that have recently banned abortion and are threatening providers with jail time."
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
Biden admin to pharmacies: Refusing to fill contraception and abortion pill prescriptions could break federal lawSenior Biden administration officials announced Wednesday that they are reminding tens of thousands of pharmacies around the country that they risk violating civil rights laws if they refuse to fill orders for contraception or abortion medication or discriminate based on a person’s pregnancy status.
The action comes a few weeks after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and gave more than a dozen states a green light to ban abortion, and aims to respond to a wave of reports that pharmacies in those states are refusing to not only fill prescriptions for abortion...
From the Center
Pharmacies risk violating civil rights laws if they deny access to drugs that can be used for abortion, HHS saysThe 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...
From the Right
HHS warns pharmacies denying abortion pills violates anti-discrimination lawThe 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,”...
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