Timika Thomas, who resides in Las Vegas, is speaking out about a CVS abortion medication mixup that ultimately resulted in the termination of her in vitro fertilization.
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Thomas and her husband had trouble getting pregnant and after two ectopic pregnancies, Thomas had to have her fallopian tubes removed. Even though their insurance didn’t cover IVF, they decided to do it and pay out of pocket anyway.
Thomas’ doctor prescribed a vaginal suppository to replace the injections required to jumpstart her hormones. After taking two of her required doses, she immediately knew something was wrong.
“I started cramping really bad. My cramping went beyond that,” she said. “It was extreme. It was painful.” After researching the prescription on the label, she realized a grave error had been made.
Two technicians and two pharmacists made various mistake that led to Thomas being given the wrong medication, which basically terminated her burgeoning pregnancy immediately.
“The first thing I read is it’s used for abortions,” Thomas said. “They just killed my baby. Both my babies, because I transferred two embryos.”
Thomas filed a complaint with the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy, which held a meeting in September. Ultimately, the two pharmacists were fined and had their licenses temporarily suspended.
In addition, the pharmacists will have their licenses reinstated if they avert disciplinary action over the next year, pay fines and take continuing education credits.
In a statement, CVS said:
“We’ve apologized to our patient for the prescription incident that occurred in 2019 and have cooperated with the Nevada Board of Pharmacy in this matter. The health and well-being of our patients is our number one priority and we have comprehensive policies and procedures in place to support prescription safety. Prescription errors are very rare, but if one does occur, we take steps to learn from it in order to continuously improve quality and patient safety.”
Sadly, this doesn’t sound like justice for Thomas—it’s merely a slap on the wrist.
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