The Biden administration warns pharmacies not to discriminate against women who may apply for reproductive health prescriptions, including some that may be involved in ending a pregnancy.
The Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday that pharmacies that receive federal money from programs like Medicare and Medicaid cannot discriminate how they supply drugs or advise patients on prescriptions.
The agency noted that discrimination against people because of their pregnancy or related conditions would be a form of sex discrimination.
The announcement comes as the administration seeks to ensure reproductive health services for women following last month’s Supreme Court decision ending the constitutional right to abortion.
On Monday, the administration told hospitals they “must” offer abortion services if the mother’s life is at risk. The government said the federal law on emergency treatment guidelines is ahead of state laws in jurisdictions that now prohibit the procedure without exception. Now, all states offer an exception for the mother’s life.
President Joe Biden has also signed an executive order to try to protect some access to the procedure, but has also acknowledged that his administration is limited in what it can do. Earlier this month, he noted that a congressional law would be needed to restore national access to abortion services, and has urged Americans outraged by the Supreme Court ruling to vote in November.
Wednesday’s actions, such as those described on Monday, do not reflect a new policy. They aim to remind caregivers of their existing obligations under federal law.
“We are committed to ensuring that everyone has access to health care, without discrimination,” Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement. “This includes access to prescription drugs for reproductive health and other types of care.”
The department’s guidelines on pharmacies described several hypothetical examples of possible discrimination. They include a pharmacy that refuses to fill a prescription for mifepristone followed by misoprostol to help manage the complications of a miscarriage after a pregnancy loss.
This combination of drugs is also commonly used in abortions with medications.
A pharmacy that refuses to fill a prescription for misoprostol prescribed to help deal with serious complications of a stomach ulcer can be discriminatory based on disability, HHS said. The agency noted that the pharmacy may also be discriminatory if it refuses to store the drug based on its alternative use.
HHS also cited as another example of potential discrimination: a pharmacy that refuses to fill a prescription for methotrexate to stop an ectopic pregnancy, which grows out of the womb and is not viable.
The federal agency said people who believe their rights have been violated should visit an online portal for the Office of Civil Rights to file a complaint.