Clarifying grey area at the pharmacy amid the new abortion ban

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- While drugs to induce abortion are now illegal in Indiana except in certain circumstances, contraception is still perfectly legal. This includes emergency contraception, like the Plan B Pill.

The language of the new law, enacted Thursday, does not apply to those medications since they will not harm an already existing pregnancy. They simply stop ovulation, preventing fertilization inside the female uterus.

But many drugs serve more than one purpose.

The Executive Vice President of the Indiana Pharmacy Association, Darren Covington, said there are certain prescriptions that can be used to induce an abortion, but can also be prescribed for conditions like arthritis.

Also, a woman undergoing a miscarriage may need the same medicine used to induce an abortion to expel the miscarriage from her body.

Now that the ban is enacted, Covington said, the Indiana Pharmacy Association is interested to see if anyone will have trouble accessing these kinds of drugs.

“If any patients are encountering pharmacies that are refusing to fill a medication that can be used for an abortion, but also be used for something else, and they’re getting it for something else, we would be interested in hearing about that at the association,” he said.

The link to contact the Indiana Pharmacy Association can be found here. You can also call (317) 634-4968 or email [email protected].