Vegas Woman Loses IVF Twins After Pharmacy Gives Her Abortion Pill

A dream come true turned into a living nightmare for a Vegas woman when her local CVS accidentally gave her the wrong medication that ultimately terminated her in-vitro fertilization, IVF.

Timika Thomas is now speaking out about the human error incident that caused her to lose two babies.

Thomas and her husband wanted to expand their family of six in 2019, but after experiencing trouble conceiving and two ectopic pregnancies that led to her fallopian tubes being removed, the couple turned to IVF. Their insurance didn't cover IVF, but they decided to pay out of pocket for the expensive treatment.

After having two embryos implanted, Thomas' doctors prescribed a medication that would stimulate hormone production needed for a successful pregnancy. Her nightmare began after picking up what she thought would be the medication to kickstart her pregnancy.

"I put my life in CVS's hands. And they gave me something that could have possibly taken my life away," she told 8 News Now. "But it didn't, it took my babies life away."

After taking the medication she thought was the one prescribed by her doctor, she began cramping. She checked the label and looked up the name and discovered it was the medication given for abortions.

"They just killed my baby," she said at the time. "Both my babies, because I transferred two embryos."

It appears that one pharmacy technician thought she knew the generic name for the brand prescribed by the doctor but put the wrong name in the prescription. Another technician didn't catch the error and the pharmacist failed to consult with Thomas when she picked up her prescription.

"It would have been caught because then they would have had to have the medicine in their hand," she said. "And they would have so, 'Oh, this is Misoprostol or Cytotek, have you taken this before?' And I would have said, 'no'."

Thomas appeared before the state board in September and gave testimony about her traumatic experience. Two pharmacists were fined and had their licenses suspended but will have them reinstated if they don't have any further disciplinary action over the next year, pay fines and complete necessary continuing education credits. The pharmacy board also fined CVS the maximum amount allowed by statue, $10,000.

Both pharmacists apologized for their mistakes, but Thomas has been left to grieve losing a last opportunity to grow her family.

"All I got was a sorry," she said. "It will never be good enough."

CVS also issued a statement and apology.

"We apologized to our patient for the prescription incident that occurred in 2019 and have cooperated with the Nevada Board of Pharmacy in this matter. The health and well-being of our patients is our number one priority and we have comprehensive policies and procedures in place to support prescription safety," the state reads.

"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."