Tucson doctor: Arizona's abortion law delayed teen patient's needed medication

When Dr. Deborah Jane Power first received the text message from her 14-year-old’s patient’s mother, she was livid.

On Sept. 26, Power was informed that her patient of 10 year’s methotrexate prescription was not refilled at a Walgreens pharmacy in Tucson. Her mother, who requested the refill the day before, told Power the pharmacy had refused to refill the prescription and she needed to contact her doctor.

“It was denied, with no reason other than to contact your daughter’s doctor,” Power said. “When she never heard back during the day and couldn’t get the pharmacy to explain why, she went down in person, very angry and pretty scared that she wouldn’t have the medicine for her daughter.”

At a higher dose, methotrexate is used in the treatment of ectopic pregnancy and part of the steps one would go through to terminate an ectopic pregnancy, making it an abortifacient at a certain dose, Power said. Since Arizona’s territorial-era law, which only makes an exception for abortion when the mother’s life is in danger, was reinstated on Sept. 23, Power believes that was the reason for the prescription trouble.

“We were both pretty upset and angry that she was being treated this way, that this medication was being withheld when it was not going to be used for an abortion,” Power said. “She was on an incredibly low dose, so it just seemed inappropriate all around.”

After some discussion, the girl’s prescription was finally refilled. Power said the medicine was crucial to control the girl’s autoimmune disease.

Due to the reversal of Roe vs Wade, Power said there have been cases where women of reproductive age had issues getting methotrexate, but she had never seen an adolescent have an issue.

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“This is my first adolescent patient to have methotrexate denied, just full on denied,” Power said. “I did not feel it was appropriate to not to let me know what was happening. They never contacted us, they did not send a fax, they didn’t send anything electronically, they just told the mother to contact us.”

When asked about the incident, a spokesperson from Walgreens said their focus is meeting the needs of patients and making sure they have access to the medications they need, in compliance with pharmacy laws and regulations.

“New laws in various states require additional steps for dispensing certain prescriptions and apply to all pharmacies, including Walgreens,” their statement said. “In these states, our pharmacists work closely with prescribers as needed, to fill lawful, clinically appropriate prescriptions. We provide ongoing training and information to help our pharmacists understand the latest requirements in their area, and with these supports, the expectation is they are empowered to fill these prescriptions.”

Power has since filed complaints with the state pharmacy board and said she was going to write to senators and members of Congress.

“It’s beyond an abortion issue; it’s now become a women’s health issue,” Power said.

As of Oct. 7, abortions in Arizona are now legal again.

In a previous Arizona Daily Star article, Howard Fischer reported that the state Court of Appeals blocked implementation of the order issued last month by Pima County Superior Court Judge Kellie Johnson that said prosecutors can now bring charges against doctors who perform abortions.