Pharmacists tell doctors to produce abortion evidence
THE Pharmaceutical Society of Jamaica (PCJ) has challenged Dr Alverston Bailey, president of the Medical Association of Jamaica (MAJ), to provide evidence to support his claim that some pharmacies were illegally selling a drug, Cytotec, that was being used to abort pregnancies.
Dr Bailey, in yesterday’s lead Observer story, said the drug was being sold on the black market, but posed a risk to women seeking to terminate their pregnancies.
But Norman Dunn, president of the Pharmaceutical Society of Jamaica, said yesterday that pharmacies were very upset about the allegation, and demanded that Bailey provide the evidence to support the claim. “We don’t want anecdotal evidence. We don’t want it to be swept under the carpet and then it becomes a 10-day wonder, we want a solution to the issue,” Dunn told the Observer.
“We are glad that he brought it up. What we want him to do is to produce the evidence so that the appropriate action can be taken,” Dunn added.
Cytotec, which is used to combat severe gastric ulcers and other such ailments, is used by doctors to induce labour under very specific conditions. However, due to the conditions that have to be satisfied before the drug is used, Cytotec has not been made available over the counter.
Dunn said the Pharmaceutical Society was very upset that the MAJ had not had any dialogue with pharmacies before going public with its concerns.