Methotrexate has been known to cause abortions and birth defects

Pharmacists, like anybody, sometimes make mistakes when dispensing prescriptions to individuals.  However, certain mistakes may prove to be more detrimental than others.

Mareena Silva of Fort Lupton, Colorado, is a woman who is six weeks pregnant. She went into a Safeway drug store for an antibiotic, but the pharmacist gave her the wrong medication.

Mareena was hoping to receive a prescribed antibiotic, when instead she was given a potential abortion medication. She hadn’t noticed that it wasn’t hers because the name of the other patient, Maria Silva, is very similar to hers.

Later, Mareena learned that the medication is not an antibiotic, but instead it is methotrexate, which is used to treat cancers. Aside from that, methotrexate has also been used to cause abortions, especially in troubled pregnancies, and if taken mistakenly, it could also cause birth defects. After knowing all of those things, she immediately called her doctor.

She honestly said that she was warned by the pharmacist that the drug is not good for pregnant women, but she just said that it’s okay because her doctor prescribed it and not knowing that the pharmacist was referring to the drug methotrexate.

Due to the said incident, Safeway’s Public Affairs Director Kris Staaf, released a statement that they will further investigate the case and that they will shoulder the medical expenses of Silva.

Experts strongly recommend additional safety precautions be taken when dispersing medication, like double checking name, address, and doctor names.