State Abortion Bans Prevent Women from Getting Medication
2022-07-22
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1Annie England Noblin is 40 years old and lives in rural Missouri.
2She has never had a problem getting her medication methotrexate -- until last week.
3Noblin takes methotrexate to treat a condition called rheumatoid arthritis.
4When taken in high amounts, the medicine can cause an abortion, or the end of a pregnancy.
5Last week, Noblin's pharmacist said she needed confirmation from her doctor that the drug was not going to be used to cause an abortion.
6The state of Missouri now bans almost all abortions.
7Methotrexate can be used to end a pregnancy.
8But it is also one of the leading medicines doctors prescribe to treat rheumatoid arthritis,
9which affects more than one million Americans.
10In the end, the pharmacy filled the prescription.
11But Noblin said she wants to change to a different, more costly medication in case the pharmacy refuses to fill her prescription in the future.
12"It made me feel I couldn't be trusted with the medication prescribed to me simply because I have a uterus," Noblin said.
13Missouri's restrictive anti-abortion laws went into effect following last month's decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the 1973 ruling known as Roe v. Wade.
14The case protected abortion rights throughout the United States for the last 50 years.
15More than 30 states have enacted legislation that restricts the ability to get medication that can be used to end a pregnancy.
16Six other state laws clearly list methotrexate as an abortion-causing medication, says Steven Schultz.
17He is director of state legislative affairs for the patient support group Arthritis Foundation.
18Today, women in Missouri and other states including Texas, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee have problems getting methotrexate.
19Some have faced difficulties getting the medicine from pharmacies.
20Others say their doctors simply stopped prescribing the drug.
21That information comes from social media posts examined by Reuters reporters and the support groups Global Healthy Living Foundation and the Arthritis Foundation.
22Rachel Rebouche is a law professor at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
23She said such laws have a "chilling effect" on doctors and pharmacists.
24The laws often lead care providers to not give out medications that can cause an abortion because they fear legal punishment.
25Last week, the U.S. government health agency told pharmacies they are required to fill prescriptions under federal civil rights laws.
26It said denying women methotrexate could be considered discrimination.
27The government's guidance shows the possible effects across the country in limiting such prescriptions.
28But the federal guidance may not be enough to deal with concerns about state bans.
29Rebouche said, "We'll have to wait and see what the federal government is willing to do to ensure people have the information they need."
30The National Community Pharmacists Association represents 19,000 independent pharmacists.
31It said in a statement that pharmacists are caught in the "crossfire" between conflicting federal and state laws.
32CVS and Walgreen Boots Alliance are two of the biggest U.S. pharmacy companies.
33Representatives for both said they tell their pharmacists to confirm methotrexate will not be used to end a pregnancy before giving it to people in states with strict abortion laws.
34Methotrexate is a low-cost drug. It is commonly prescribed to treat diseases like lupus. It has been approved to treat rheumatoid arthritis for more than 30 years.
35It is also used to treat cancer.
36In much higher amounts, it can end a pregnancy, complete miscarriage, or end a life-threatening form of pregnancy called an ectopic pregnancy.
37Pharmaceutical market research company IQVIA found that about 500,000 methotrexate prescriptions a month were written in the past year.
38I'm Caty Weaver.
1Annie England Noblin is 40 years old and lives in rural Missouri. She has never had a problem getting her medication methotrexate -- until last week. 2Noblin takes methotrexate to treat a condition called rheumatoid arthritis. When taken in high amounts, the medicine can cause an abortion, or the end of a pregnancy. 3Last week, Noblin's pharmacist said she needed confirmation from her doctor that the drug was not going to be used to cause an abortion. 4The state of Missouri now bans almost all abortions. Methotrexate can be used to end a pregnancy. But it is also one of the leading medicines doctors prescribe to treat rheumatoid arthritis, which affects more than one million Americans. 5In the end, the pharmacy filled the prescription. But Noblin said she wants to change to a different, more costly medication in case the pharmacy refuses to fill her prescription in the future. 6"It made me feel I couldn't be trusted with the medication prescribed to me simply because I have a uterus," Noblin said. 7Missouri's restrictive anti-abortion laws went into effect following last month's decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the 1973 ruling known as Roe v. Wade. The case protected abortion rights throughout the United States for the last 50 years. 8More than 30 states have enacted legislation that restricts the ability to get medication that can be used to end a pregnancy. 9Six other state laws clearly list methotrexate as an abortion-causing medication, says Steven Schultz. He is director of state legislative affairs for the patient support group Arthritis Foundation. 10Today, women in Missouri and other states including Texas, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee have problems getting methotrexate. Some have faced difficulties getting the medicine from pharmacies. Others say their doctors simply stopped prescribing the drug. That information comes from social media posts examined by Reuters reporters and the support groups Global Healthy Living Foundation and the Arthritis Foundation. 11Rachel Rebouche is a law professor at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She said such laws have a "chilling effect" on doctors and pharmacists. The laws often lead care providers to not give out medications that can cause an abortion because they fear legal punishment. 12Last week, the U.S. government health agency told pharmacies they are required to fill prescriptions under federal civil rights laws. It said denying women methotrexate could be considered discrimination. 13The government's guidance shows the possible effects across the country in limiting such prescriptions. But the federal guidance may not be enough to deal with concerns about state bans. 14Rebouche said, "We'll have to wait and see what the federal government is willing to do to ensure people have the information they need." 15The National Community Pharmacists Association represents 19,000 independent pharmacists. It said in a statement that pharmacists are caught in the "crossfire" between conflicting federal and state laws. 16CVS and Walgreen Boots Alliance are two of the biggest U.S. pharmacy companies. Representatives for both said they tell their pharmacists to confirm methotrexate will not be used to end a pregnancy before giving it to people in states with strict abortion laws. 17Commonly prescribed drug 18Methotrexate is a low-cost drug. It is commonly prescribed to treat diseases like lupus. It has been approved to treat rheumatoid arthritis for more than 30 years. 19It is also used to treat cancer. In much higher amounts, it can end a pregnancy, complete miscarriage, or end a life-threatening form of pregnancy called an ectopic pregnancy. 20Pharmaceutical market research company IQVIA found that about 500,000 methotrexate prescriptions a month were written in the past year. 21I'm Caty Weaver. 22Rose Horowitch reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 23_______________________________________________________________________ 24Words in This Story 25pharmacy - n. a store or part of a store in which drugs and medicines are prepared and sold 26uterus - n. the organ in women and some female animals in which babies develop before birth 27chilling - adj. very disturbing or frightening 28ensure - v. to make sure that something happens 29crossfire - n. shots that come from two or more places so that the bullets cross through the same area - sometimes used figuratively 30miscarriage - n. a condition in which a pregnancy ends too early and does not result in the birth of a live baby 31What do you think of the change in ability to get medication related to abortion? 32We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 33Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.