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Pharmacists can't refuse to sell 'morning after' pill, says judge
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Should pharmacists be allowed to refuse to sell birth control?
A Washington state regulation requiring that pharmacists fill prescriptions regardless of their personal objections has been reinstated after it was put on hold by a lower court judge. This week, a 9th Circuit panel of judges found that the original court ruling suspending the regulation was inappropriately broad, according to an AP report.
In 2007, the Pharmacy Board in Washington state ruled that pharmacists could not pick and choose what they were willing to sell based on personal objections. If they did not want to personally fill a prescription, they could ask another pharmacist to do it, but they could not delay filling a patient's prescription.
Two pharmacists sued the state in 2007 saying they were being denied their constitutional rights to religious freedom. For example, should a pharmacist be morally opposed to family planning products like Plan B, often called the 'morning after' pill, they would still be required to fill a prescription for it, since it is a legal product in the state of Washington. A judge agreed, citing religious freedom of all pharmacists, and suspended the regulation. With this latest ruling, however, pharmacists cannot use religious or moral objections as a reason not to serve a customer.
In other states that have established "conscience clauses" for pharmacists, some have used the law to refuse to sell birth contrl pills to women with a valid prescription. In South Dakota, a conscience clause allows hospital staff to refuse to inform rape victims about the availability of legal emergency contraception.
This latest ruling on pharmacist "conscience clauses" in Washington state will be appealed, according to lawyers for the plaintiffs. A spokesman for Governor Christine Gregoire, who pushed for the original ruling requiring pharmacists to dispense all legal products, told the AP that "the ruling reinforces the value of the doctor-patient relationship and access for all to care that they need."
Source: Seattle PI
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