Arizona woman says Walgreens pharmacist denied her prescription to end pregnancy

A mother in Arizona is speaking out against a Walgreens pharmacist who she says refused to give her prescription medication for her miscarriage.

Nicole Arteaga, 35, said her doctor prescribed her a drug to help miscarry her dead fetus after learning the unborn child no longer had a heartbeat.

She says the pharmacist refused her the medication because it violated his personal beliefs.

"He was not compassionate at all," she said. "It was pretty much like, no, I'm not giving it to you."

Arteaga said her prescription was transferred to another Walgreens location, where she was able to pick it up without a problem.

Walgreens says it's investigating the incident and released the following statement:

"After learning what happened, we reached out to the patient and apologized for how the situation was handled. To respect the sincerely held beliefs of our pharmacists while at the same time meeting the needs of our patients, our policy allows pharmacists to step away from filling a prescription for which they have a moral objection. At the same time, they are also required to refer the prescription to another pharmacist or manager on duty to meet the patient's needs in a timely manner. We are looking into the matter to ensure that our patients' needs are handled properly."