Short answer. Yes. Article 259 makes it an offence for a pharmacist to dispense any abortive without the proper prescription from a physician. The offence turns on the absence of that prescription, so the record of what was dispensed, to whom and on whose authority is what such a case is decided on.

What the law says

Any pharmacist who, without the proper prescription from a physician shall dispense any abortive

Revised Penal Code, Article 259 — Abortion By Physician Or Midwife. Read the full provision →

A separate offence from causing the abortion

The second sentence of Article 259 stands on its own: any pharmacist who, without the proper prescription from a physician shall dispense any abortive is liable, and the article fixes the penalty for that conduct itself. It is not a form of participation in somebody else's abortion. The pharmacist is not charged as an accomplice to an act performed elsewhere; the dispensing is the punishable act. That is why the article gives it a penalty of its own rather than referring back to the graded penalties applicable to the person who causes an abortion.

What has to be shown

Three things carry the offence: that the accused is a pharmacist, that what was dispensed was an abortive, and that it was dispensed without the proper prescription from a physician. Nothing in the wording requires proof that an abortion followed, or even that one was attempted. The absence of a valid prescription is the core of it. Whether a particular substance answers to the description of an abortive, and whether a prescription presented was the proper one, are the questions on which real cases in this area tend to turn.

The penalty, and a caution about printed figures

The article attaches a term of imprisonment and a fine to this conduct. Do not take the fine from an old copy of the Code. Later legislation revised money figures throughout the Revised Penal Code, and the amount now applicable is the one carried by the current amended text rather than anything appearing in an earlier printing. The same caution applies to any secondary source that has not been updated. If an amount matters to a decision you are making, have the current text checked rather than relying on a figure you have seen quoted.

The dispensing record is the case

For a pharmacist facing an accusation, and for anyone bringing one, the documents are the same: the prescription file, the dispensing log, the stock and sales records for the item, and whatever identifies who was on duty. Those records are made contemporaneously, which is why they carry weight in a way later recollection does not. Professional regulation of pharmacy practice runs separately from the criminal provision and has its own consequences. Get counsel before answering questions from either direction.

Related provisions

Note. Statute text quoted on this page is reproduced from the official enactment and is linked to the full provision. The explanation around it is general legal information from Vivas & Nobles Law Office, not legal advice. Whether it applies to your situation depends on facts only a lawyer reviewing them can assess.