Pregnant woman given abortion pills by mistake after pharmacist’s mix up

A woman who fell pregnant after years of IVF has been left devastated after a pharmacist accidentally gave her abortion pills instead of her usual medication.

A woman who finally fell pregnant after years of IVF treatment has been left devastated after a pharmacy gave her abortion pills by mistake, causing her to miscarry.

Timika Thomas, from Las Vegas, USA, had always dreamt of having a big family and could not wait to have another baby with her husband.

But her motherhood journey was not easy.

After a complicated ectopic pregnancy, a condition that occurs when a fertilised egg implants and grows outside the uterus, doctors had to remove Timika’s fallopian tubes, meaning she could not fall pregnant naturally ever again.

The mum desperately wanted to expand her family, and forked out thousands for IVF treatments so she could have another baby.

Timika Thomas was accidentally given abortion pills after a pharmacist mix up. Picture: Facebook

She says that sorry is not enough for the pain she has suffered. Picture: Facebook

Finally, she found herself in the early stages of pregnancy after her doctor transferred two embryos and told her to take some fertility medication to prepare her body for a smooth pregnancy.

But the CVS pharmacy where she took her script accidentally dispensed abortion tablets instead of the correct pills she needed to help her pregnancy

The medication, called Misoprostol, is used in terminations by contracting the uterus and expelling the pregnancy, essentially causing a miscarriage.

Timika explained that she took two of the required doses as prescribed by her doctor, but soon realised something was very wrong.

Despite being used to cramping throughout the IVF process, she said this pain was unlike anything she had experience before.

“I started cramping really bad,” Thomas told News8.

“My cramping went beyond [what I expected]. It was extreme. It was painful.”

She was given abortion pills instead of fertility medication in a terrible mix up. Picture: iStock

She was concerned with the degree of pain she was experiencing, so decided to refer to the medication packet she had received.

But after looking up the name of the product in the hopes of finding out why the cramps were so intense, her blood ran cold: she had ingested abortion medication.

“The first thing I read is it’s used for abortions,” she recalled.

“[I thought] they just killed my baby. Actually, both my babies, because I transferred two embryos.”

According to documents obtained by the news outlet, the grave mistake occurred after one technician incorrectly believed she knew the generic name for the brand prescribed by the doctor, and ended up entering the wrong name into the prescription.

One pharmacist did not catch the error, while another pharmacist failed to counsel Timika when she came to pick up her medication.

“It [the error] would have been caught because then they would have had to have the medicine in their hand,” she said.

“And they would have said, ‘Oh, this is Misoprostol or Cytotek, have you taken this before?’ And I would have said ‘no.’ ”

Timika and her husband had forked out thousands for IVF treatments. Picture: News 8

Timika lodged a complaint with the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy, which met in September 2023.

After she gave heartbreaking testimony about her horrifying experience, which occurred in 2019, the two pharmacists were fined and had their licenses suspended provisionally.

If both of them avoid disciplinary action over the next 12 months, pay fines and take continuing education credits, their licenses will be reinstated, according to pharmacy board documents.

“We’ve apologised to our patient for the prescription incident that occurred in 2019 and have co-operated with the Nevada Board of Pharmacy in this matter,” CVS said in a statement.

“The health and wellbeing of our patients is our number one priority and we have comprehensive policies and procedures in place to support prescription safety,” they said.

A spokesperson for CVS pharmacy apologised for what occurred. Picture: iStock

“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.”

The pharmacy board fined CVS USD$10,000 (AUD$15,828) which is the maximum amount allowed by statute, for its “vicarious liability of the pharmacists’ errors”.

Both pharmacists apologised for what had occurred.

“It’s a human error,” one testified.

“It was just a human error and I’m so sorry.”

However, Timika says the apology barely softens any of the heartache or sorrow she continues to feel to this day.

“All I got was a sorry,” she said.

“It will never be good enough.”