In a tragic incident in Nevada, a Las Vegas woman, Timika Thomas, finds herself in the midst of unbearable grief after a CVS pharmacist mistakenly dispensed a medication that killed her unborn twins. This heartbreaking story highlights the devastating consequences of medical errors and the profound impact it can have on families.
Timika Thomas and her husband, parents of four children, yearned for one more addition to their family. However, due to fertility issues and previous ectopic pregnancies, conceiving another child proved challenging. Consequently, they opted for in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment, which involved a regimen of injections. As the injections began to take a toll on her body, Thomas’s doctor changed course and wrote her a prescription.
Tragedy struck when Thomas went to a local CVS drugstore to fill her prescription. She innocently took the medication without suspecting any problem, but soon experienced excruciating cramps. These pains extended beyond what should have been expected, leaving her in unbearable agony.
It was later revealed that the CVS pharmacist had mistakenly given Thomas misoprostol, also known as Cytotec, an ulcer medication. Tragically, misoprostol is also a component of the two-drug abortion pill process, misused to expel the body of a deceased fetus after the abortion pill mifepristone has ended the unborn child’s life. While CVS has expressed its willingness to sell mifepristone for abortion purposes, misoprostol is already available as an anti-ulcer medicine, even though it carries the side effect of causing a miscarriage, which is why pregnant women are cautioned against its use.
Timika Thomas only learned of the devastating mistake when she conducted an internet search and discovered the true nature of the medication she had been given. She recalled her harrowing realization, “The first thing I read is it’s used for abortions.”
Investigations into the incident revealed a series of errors involving two technicians and two pharmacists that led to the prescription mix-up. A technician incorrectly entered the wrong name for the prescribed medication, one pharmacist failed to detect this error, and another pharmacist neglected to counsel Thomas when she collected her medication.
CVS was subsequently fined $10,000 for this egregious error, and the pharmacists involved were held accountable. Timika Thomas filed a complaint with the Nevada State Board of Pharmacy, which convened in September. Following her heartbreaking testimony, the two pharmacists received fines and had their licenses provisionally suspended. If they successfully complete the required disciplinary actions over the next year, including paying fines and fulfilling continuing education requirements, their licenses may be reinstated, according to pharmacy board documents.
While CVS issued an apology, it offered little solace to Timika Thomas, who lost her precious twin babies due to the pharmacist’s negligence. “All I got was a sorry,” she lamented. “It will never be good enough.” This tragic incident underscores the need for heightened diligence in the pharmaceutical industry and the devastating consequences of medical errors, especially when they involve the sanctity of unborn life.
