Meijer Stores To Change Policies On Filling Prescriptions

PETOSKEY (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan says it has reached an agreement with Meijer on policy changes and training after a pharmacist at one of the retailer's stores refused to fill a prescription to help a woman complete a miscarriage.

The ACLU said in a news release Thursday that the Midwestern retailer's new policies include requiring a second pharmacist to immediately fill a prescription if another pharmacist has a religious objection. Customers also are to receive prescriptions without knowing about a pharmacist's objection.

A pharmacist in the northern Michigan community of Petoskey, citing his religious beliefs, refused to fill Rachel Peterson's prescription last July for misoprostol so she could accelerate a miscarriage and avoid infection.

Misoprostol is sometimes taken as part of a drug combination to induce abortion. Peterson later got the medication from another Meijer.

Meijer spokeswoman Christina Fecher said in an email that the retailer always is "focused on providing the best service to all" its "pharmacy patients, while also ensuring" pharmacists "work in a supportive environment."