Teenage girl denied life-saving arthritis medicine after strict new anti-abortion laws

A mum has revealed that her teenager daughter was denied life-saving medication because of their states strict anti-abortion laws.

Emma Thompson, 14, lives in Arizona, which was affected by the recent overturning of Roe V Wade, and this meant that she denied an essential drug because it can be used to induce an abortion.

The teenager takes what's known as methotrexate to treat rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis, however, it has also been used to end ectopic pregnancies.

The drug was previously available without issue at pharmacies including Walgreens, which then refused to accept Thompson's prescription.

However, thankfully, within 24 hours, they backtracked on their decision and allowed the teenager to access the life-saving medication.

Emma's mum Kaitlin Preble told KOLD: "As a mother who has had to deal with my child being very ill most of her life, I was scared, I was really worried.

"I was shaking. I was in tears. I didn't know what to do."

The decision to deny the essential medication was also slammed by the teenager's doctor, Dr Deborah Jane Power, who wrote on Twitter: "Welcome to Arizona.

"Methotrexatere denied purely because she's a female, barely a teenager. Livid! No discussion, just a denial. Now to fight for what's best for this patient."

Reflecting on the 24-hour period when she did not know if her daughter could access the medication she needed, Emma said she was 'scared' as alternative medicine might not have worked.

She said: "I was scared, I was really scared.

"I'm like if they deny this then we'll have to find a different medication and we don't know if it's going to work."

As reported by the Mirror, Emma sadly isn't the only teenager to face a barrier in obtaining essential medication because of strict abortion laws.

Another mum took to social media to vent about having the same problem, writing: "Daughter on methotrexate till they decided not to fill her prescription yesterday. RA and Crohn's. She is in her 'childbearing' years. We are freaking out."

The milestone Roe V Wade legislation, which had made abortion accessible for women across the US, was officially overturned in June 2022 by the Supreme Court.

In the months since, a number of individual states moved to ban abortions, or pass new restrictions on terminations.

At the time of writing, states that have banned abortion with no exceptions include Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Tyla has contacted Walgreens for a comment.