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The Biden administration warned the nation’s 60,000 retail pharmacies on Wednesday that they risk violating federal civil rights law if they refuse to fill prescriptions for pills that can induce abortion — the second time this week that it has used its executive authority to set up showdowns with states where abortion is now illegal. In four pages of guidance, the federal Department of Health and Human Services ticked off a series of conditions — including miscarriage, stomach ulcers and ectopic pregnancy — that are commonly treated with drugs that can induce abortion. It warned that failing to dispense such pills “may be discriminating” on the basis of sex or disability. (Stolberg, 7/13)

Under the guidance issued Wednesday, officials pointed to federal civil rights laws, including provisions in the Affordable Care Act, that they said prohibit pharmacists from making their own decisions about the suitability of a prescribed medication for patients, as well as other situations that they said would constitute discrimination against patients. For instance, a woman who experiences a miscarriage may be prescribed drugs such as mifepristone and misoprostol, and health officials warned pharmacists against refusing to fill those prescriptions. (Diamond, 7/13)

The Department aimed its guidance at the roughly 60,000 retail pharmacies in the U.S., reminding them that because they receive federal funding through several programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, they cannot discriminate based on race, color, national origin, sex, age, and disability; further they may not discriminate based on current pregnancy, past pregnancy, potential or intended pregnancy, and medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth. (Feibel, 7/13)

The agency said it has received complaints from several patients and physicians regarding pharmacists who refused to distribute prescriptions because of their views on abortions. ... Any individual who experiences such discrimination can file a complaint with the agency’s Office for Civil Rights. (Cohen, Raman and Hellmann, 7/13)