Pregnant Colorado Woman Mistakenly Given Abortion Pill

Pregnant Colorado Woman Mistakenly Given Abortion Pill
Feb 8, 2011 – 7:03 PM






AP
FORT LUPTON, Colo. - A Colorado woman who is six weeks pregnant says a pharmacist at a grocery store mistakenly gave her an abortion drug instead of an antibiotic and now she fears she will lose her unborn child.

Mareena Silva tells Denver's KMGH-TV that the pharmacist at the Safeway in Fort Lupton gave her methotrexate last week. The drug, intended for another woman, is used in chemotherapy and to terminate early-stage pregnancies.

Silva says she took a pill and checked the bottle after becoming sick. She was rushed to the hospital.

Doctors say Silva could miscarry or have a baby with birth defects.

A woman at Silva's apartment Tuesday said she's not talking to the media. Safeway says it has apologized to Silva and will pay medical expenses resulting from the mistake.

Reading this I wonder if anyone else anticipates...

nevermind.

Well, damn. This story is very unfortunate.

That's one hell of a mistake, now I didn't see ANY names for the pills but I'm guessing if you do that for a living you know the difference in an antibiotic pill and an abortion pill, so what's their excuse?

Didn't she read the label to see what medication it was that she was taking?

Tony Marino wrote:Didn't she read the label to see what medication it was that she was taking?

That's what I was thinking. The pharmacist made an awful, life-changing mistake, but he/she is only human, it could've happened to anyone. People make mistakes. And I think this woman made a mistake by not actually checking the bottle of the medication she was taking. She's not a baby, she can read.

This is true but WHO would expect the pharmacist to give a pregnant woman abortion pills? That's not something you hear about every day either.

Tony Marino wrote:Didn't she read the label to see what medication it was that she was taking?

Seriously. The RX is more liable and that may be a good lawsuit, but she should have read the label first.

Kral wrote:One pill is enough to have this catastrophic a result?

That's what I was thinking too, ONE pill does this? Why is there a whole bottle of them then?

How horrible. Hope everything works out but I wish people would pay attention to what they're taking. It's not the first time a pharmacist has made a mistake. With the internet it's easy to look it up & know what it does & what it should look like. People should know what they're putting in their body & the side effects. The law will hold the pharmacy responsible but she should have had at least some knowledge about what she was taking.

tsk, tsk, tsk

Seems like the pharmacy is getting off kind of easy on this one. That sounds like the potential to be a huge lawsuit.

We were talking about this on another forum, with a poll, and a good strong majority felt like it was the woman's fault and the pharmacy should not be held liable.

I think the woman was stupid. I read the labels of my pills PLUS the whole insert and compare the description of the pills to the actual pills. Also our pharmacy has us look at the label and confirm it's the right rx bottle and then sign for it. Especially if I am pregnant or bfing at the time!!

I personally think that the pharmacy made a mistake and they will pay for it, but the woman needs to also accept personal responsibility.

The reason there were so many pills is that the lady who they were supposed to go to wasn't using them as an abortion pill, the pill is used for cancer and other conditions as well.

I don't believe it's absolute that she will lose the baby or have defects, but it's a REALLY scary situation!

Scary story! Yet another reason to CHECK your meds and read the label and directions and everything. They didn't say if the wrong med was put in the bottle, with the correct labelling for the antibiotic, or if they gave her the total wrong prescription. Still, why no consult> I've always had a pharmacist go over the prescription with me and give me the warning effects and if they don't offer, I ask to speak to one.

TSJFan4Ever wrote:Scary story! Yet another reason to CHECK your meds and read the label and directions and everything. They didn't say if the wrong med was put in the bottle, with the correct labelling for the antibiotic, or if they gave her the total wrong prescription. Still, why no consult> I've always had a pharmacist go over the prescription with me and give me the warning effects and if they don't offer, I ask to speak to one.

In the article I saw, it said that she was given the wrong woman's rx, she had a similar first name and the same last name I guess.

thepossiblepolice wrote:

TSJFan4Ever wrote:Scary story! Yet another reason to CHECK your meds and read the label and directions and everything. They didn't say if the wrong med was put in the bottle, with the correct labelling for the antibiotic, or if they gave her the total wrong prescription. Still, why no consult> I've always had a pharmacist go over the prescription with me and give me the warning effects and if they don't offer, I ask to speak to one.

In the article I saw, it said that she was given the wrong woman's rx, she had a similar first name and the same last name I guess.

It sounds like she didn't even look at the label. I've noticed a slight difference between pharmacies. Some ask for your name & birthdate & some just your name.

thepossiblepolice wrote:We were talking about this on another forum, with a poll, and a good strong majority felt like it was the woman's fault and the pharmacy should not be held liable.

It may be partially her fault but the pharmacy should not be held liable for it's OWN mistakes? That's a ridiculous argument, IMO. The PHARMACY made the mistake; the pharmacy should be held liable. Maybe it should be held slightly less liable because she didn't read the label, but to say that this is the woman's fault alone is absurd. Pharmacy's cannot go around making negligent mistakes and justify itself by saying that people need to look on their bottles. That is just whacked. Pharmacy's are supposed to fill the orders they are GIVEN and not expect their customers to be a safety net for their careless mistakes.

Forgiveness Man wrote:

thepossiblepolice wrote:We were talking about this on another forum, with a poll, and a good strong majority felt like it was the woman's fault and the pharmacy should not be held liable.

It may be partially her fault but the pharmacy should not be held liable for it's OWN mistakes? That's a ridiculous argument, IMO. The PHARMACY made the mistake; the pharmacy should be held liable. Maybe it should be held slightly less liable because she didn't read the label, but to say that this is the woman's fault alone is absurd. Pharmacy's cannot go around making negligent mistakes and justify itself by saying that people need to look on their bottles. That is just whacked. Pharmacy's are supposed to fill the orders they are GIVEN and not expect their customers to be a safety net for their careless mistakes.

I actually agree, from a legal liability standpoint.
Although, I keep thinking of the mail...If you get someone else's mail by mistake, it's not the mail man who is held accountable if you open the mail and keep it, is it? I believe that if you open someone else's mail and keep it and the recipient finds out about it and wants to sue you for stealing their stuff, they can.

I feel like it was a mistake on the pharmacy's part for sure and they SHOULD pay her medical bills, but as far as her pregnancy is concerned, it was her own carelessness that will be to blame if she loses her baby.

I was almost given the wrong medication after the birth of my 3rd and actually had to argue with the nurse about it when I refused to take it. She insisted that I had the first dose the night before and wanted to dry up my milk. I wanted to bf and knew that she had the wrong patient, so I refused it. I could have easily just trusted her because she was a medical professional who was responsible for my care at that time...But that would have been a mistake on my part.

Or what about car accidents? If someone makes a left turn in front of you and you see them, you don't just slam into them! They are at fault, but as a driver you are obligated to avoid a collision even if you have the right of way.

If you slam on your brakes, the other party may be found completely liable. If you don't, the insurance co's will probably find you partially at fault.