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Safeway Pharmacy Gives Pregnant Woman Abortion Drug

FORT LUPTON, Colo. (CBS4) - Safeway said it will pay for a pregnant woman's medical expenses after allegations that a pharmacist mistakenly gave her a drug that can induce abortion, instead of the antibiotic she was prescribed.

It happened at the Safeway in Fort Lupton.

Mareena Silva reportedly took Methotrexate. She thought it was her prescribed antibiotic.

That drug was reportedly prescribed to a patient with a similar name.

Silva is six weeks pregnant, and doctors say she could miscarry.

The Colorado Pharmacy Board is now investigating. Safeway sent CBS4 a statement, which reads, in part:

"We are redoubling our efforts to ensure that all our pharmacists follow the strict policies and procedures we have in place to prevent medication errors…had that procedure been followed, this regrettable error could have been avoided," the statement reads.

According to the National Institute of Health, Methotrexate may cause very serious side effects. Some side effects of methotrexate may cause death. You should only take methotrexate to treat life-threatening cancer, or certain other conditions that are very severe and that cannot be treated with other medications.

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