Opinion | Abortion bans are stopping these women from getting medication for their chronic illness – By Liz Plank (MSNBC) / July 11, 2022
Women of childbearing age are being told that having a uterus precludes them from having access to vital medication.
For many people with disabilities and chronic illness, having access to the right medication is vital. But since Roe v. Wade was struck down by the Supreme Court last month, women are being cut off from their medication by doctors or insurance companies, often without being offered an alternative, because those drugs are considered “abortifacients.”
Because some medications used to treat lupus, cancer or rheumatoid arthritis, for example, can cause a miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy, women deemed of childbearing age are being told that having a uterus precludes them from having access to the drugs required to function in everyday life. Even in states where abortion is protected, some providers are afraid of state penalties or criminal consequences of anti-abortion laws that criminalize aiding and abetting an abortion, even if the female patients are being prescribed these drugs to cope with conditions that are completely unrelated to pregnancy.
There are reports of children suffering from juvenile arthritis being denied the drug until they can show evidence that they have not been impregnated. Some pharmacies are also afraid of failing to meet the requirements of the various abortion restrictions and bans and have stopped filling prescriptions for methotrexate altogether. When questioned by Fox 5, CVS refused to comment directly on the issue but said they “encourage providers to include their diagnosis on the prescriptions they write to help ensure patients have quick and easy access to medications.” This uncertainty has left a lot of female patients confused, bewildered and feeling completely left in the dark as they receive phone calls or letters informing them they can no longer have access to the treatment they need.
