Pharmacists Refusal to Dispense Birth Control
From CNN.com Story and MSNBC.com Story:
“A group founded by evangelist Pat Robertson is suing to stop Illinois from requiring pharmacies to fill prescriptions for emergency contraception, saying the rule violates a druggist’s right to refuse on religious and moral grounds.”
“The lawsuit represents five pharmacists indefinitely suspended by Walgreen Co. for refusing on religious or moral grounds to dispense the drugs, as well as two pharmacists worried they may face similar disciplinary action. Walgreen has said it had no choice but to follow the law.”
In what seems to be a concerted push to enforce religious dogma on the American population at large, this action was applauded by Conservative Christian groups.
To get an idea of just how pervasive the issue of pharmacists refusing to fill legitimate and legal prescriptions has become, a national research company recently surveyed more than 800 pharmacists with surprising results. They found that:
- Nearly 70 percent of the surveyed pharmacists indicated that they should have the authority to refuse filling prescriptions for emergency contraception
- Nearly 40 percent believe state laws should not require them to fill certain prescriptions
- Only 23 percent feel that a patient’s rights should prevail over their objections.
In fact, several examples below show just how out of control these self-appointed religious and moral ‘watchdogs’ have become:
“In Texas, … a Dallas pharmacist refused to fill a mother’s prescription for her son’s Ritalin, a common medication prescribed for children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).”
“…More disturbing than some pharmacists’ refusal to fill certain prescriptions is the fact that some (pharmacists) are confiscating those prescriptions so that the patients can’t have them filled elsewhere.”
What’s next on this slippery slope? With this dangerous argument in play, it’s conceivable that a Catholic convenience store clerk could refuse to sell you Condoms, or a Jewish butcher could refuse to sell you bacon? Forget the fact that you are unlikely to subscribe to either religion if you are attempting to make such purchases.
We suddenly find ourselves in the segregated communities of our darker days as a nation. What keeps us from slipping past the point where we have ‘Christian Only’ restaurants, or ‘Catholic Only’ gas stations?
If you work for a store (or pharmacy for that matter), you don’t have any right based on your religious beliefs, to refuse sell an item that is available within your place of employment. In fact, if you refuse to complete the basic requirements of your job based on religious objections, you shouldn’t be allowed to function in that capacity . . . hell, you should not have taken the job in the first place.
If you are a health care professional (yes this includes pharmacists) and you refuse to provide legal and requested treatment to a patient, you should be held responsible for your actions . . . up to, and including termination and criminal charges. You have no right to impose your own religious beliefs on those around you. In health care, you are in the business to dispense medicine, regardless of your own beliefs. If dogma is what you peddle, you really should be working in a church, not a pharmacy.
Maybe it’s time for these ‘Medical Professionals’ to find another line of work . . . one that will not subject them to ‘moral’ issues that they find so distasteful.
For all of the ‘Religious Right’ mouthpieces bitching about the war on religion, look inward to find the reason for this blow-back. The rebellion against religion in society, is directly attributed to the constant push by Religious Conservatives to include religion in all aspects of the American landscape. From the 10-commandments on display in a court of law, to the constant barrage from some ‘Religious Conservative’ Group pushing to include creationism* in public high school science classrooms, it’s out of hand and the majority of Americans are fed up! In the end, you will loose. Now you won’t loose your right to religion (because I will always support your right to subscribe to any religion that you feel, as long as it does no harm), but you will loose your fight to turn back the clocks on science . . . on education . . . on public policy.
You will loose, because in the end, most Americans understand that religion belongs in one’s heart, not in one’s government.
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*I know, the term we use now is Intelligent Design . . . but if we really wanted to press the issue, we should call it ‘Unintelligent Design’. While the human body is a marvel of bio-mechanical machinery, it’s fraught with errors, the likes of which would make Microsoft look god-like in comparison. The human body is not a product of intelligent design, it’s evolution – so evolve already!
