A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed in a Missouri federal court by a couple over the death of their unborn child.

A suburban St. Louis woman miscarried after she learned the pills that she thought were prenatal vitamins were actually a potent chemotherapy drug.

It was alleged that the unborn child died as a result of the mother taking this drug over a period of time. The lawsuit, filed against Walgreen Co., whose pharmacy is said to have dispensed the wrong medicine, contends that the company failed to properly supervise pharmacy personnel who dispensed the medicine, failed to verify the prescription with the woman’s doctor, and failed to follow appropriate protocol.

It’s alleged that Walgreen instead of dispensing a prescription for Materna, a prenatal vitamin, gave the customer Matulane, a chemotherapy drug for treatment of Hodgkin’s disease. The drug is actually designed to interfere with cell growth and DNA development.

It’s difficult to see how in the world an error of the magnitude described could have happened. The case will be watched closely as it develops.