# Pharmacist refuses to fill prescription for abortion pill on moral grounds **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 4, 2004, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacist-refuses-to-fill-prescription-for-abortion-pill-on-moral-grounds/227515 "2004-02-04T17:52:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![kung\_fu\_lola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@kung\_fu\_lola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kung_fu_lola)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2004, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacist-refuses-to-fill-prescription-for-abortion-pill-on-moral-grounds/227515/101 "2004-02-06T19:12:42Z")
> [@Mtgman](#): > > You and **Guinastasia** have raised similar points. I’ll address both at the same time for convenience sake. The pharmacist took an oath, just like a doctor. They are not supposed to be mindless drones just filling whatever scripts are handed to them. If they have reason to believe this prescription would cause harm then they are supposed to use their own judgement. \ The pharmacists duty is to use his own judgement in protecting his patient, who was the rape victim, and the rape victim alone. He was not employed as caretaker to whatever mass of cells may or may not have existed as part of her body, and had zero responsibility to it. ---
**Author:** ![grayhairedmomma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/47e85d/32.png) [@grayhairedmomma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grayhairedmomma)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2004, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacist-refuses-to-fill-prescription-for-abortion-pill-on-moral-grounds/227515/102 "2004-02-06T19:38:05Z")
I haven’t read anything that says any of the pharmacists who refused to fill this prescription are Christians. I’m seeing a lot about them refusing on moral grounds. Having morals and even being anti-abortion does not automatically make someone a Christian. Even if they live in a population with a large majority of Christians. ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2004, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacist-refuses-to-fill-prescription-for-abortion-pill-on-moral-grounds/227515/103 "2004-02-06T20:31:50Z")
> [@kung fu lola](#): > > The pharmacists duty is to use his own judgement in protecting his patient, who was the rape victim, and the rape victim alone. He was not employed as caretaker to whatever mass of cells may or may not have existed as part of her body, and had zero responsibility to it. The Pharmacist’s oath is not concerned only with the person standing in front of him. His obligation is to all humanity. If he dispenses a medication which could harm someone, even if that someone is not the patient, this could violate his oath. For example, the OPV(Oral Polio Vaccine) contains live(although weakened) strains of the polio virus. Patients receiving the OPV are asked if they will be in contact with someone with a weakened immune system(from AIDS or Chemo, or any number of other reasons). If this is the case, then the IPV(Injected Polio Vaccine) should be given instead. The patient themselves would not be in danger from the OPV, but someone near them may be. In my area pharmacists do not handle vaccinations, but the principle is the same. **Diogenes** , just fuck off. You know damn well that one of the intended effects of the MAP, and BC pills in general, is to [“stop a fertilized egg from attaching to the wall of the uterus”](http://www.preven.com/prodinfo/faq_preven.asp#2). This may not be its strongest point, but it is in fact part of the design of the medication. You should keep your tirades against the tyranny of the ignorant to your own damn self when it is you deliberately obscuring the facts. Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Carol\_the\_Impaler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carol_the_Impaler)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2004, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacist-refuses-to-fill-prescription-for-abortion-pill-on-moral-grounds/227515/104 "2004-02-06T20:32:58Z")
> [@kung fu lola](#): > > The pharmacists duty is to use his own judgement in protecting his patient, who was the rape victim, and the rape victim alone. He was not employed as caretaker to whatever mass of cells may or may not have existed as part of her body, and had zero responsibility to it. Oh, darn you, **Kung Fu Lola**!!! I wuz just gonna say the same thing! ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2004, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacist-refuses-to-fill-prescription-for-abortion-pill-on-moral-grounds/227515/105 "2004-02-06T20:51:46Z")
Goddammit! This shit makes my blood boil. I know it’s been said, but dang-blast-it, I’m saying it again: It’s not a fucking “abortion pill”. The morning-after pill does not terminate pregnancy, it _prevents_ it. Not only should that fuckhead be fired, he should never be allowed to work as a pharmacist again. Better yet, he should be raped and forced to raise the child of his rapist. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2004, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacist-refuses-to-fill-prescription-for-abortion-pill-on-moral-grounds/227515/106 "2004-02-06T20:55:12Z")
**Mtg** , stopping implantation is not an abortion. There is no conception…there is no _pregnancy_…until the egg implants. Furthermore, you keep ignoring the fact that the chances for preventing the implantation of a fertilized egg are only theoretical, extremely small and are _the same as the chances with the birth control pill_? Is the BCP an “abortion pill?” Would you say that a pharmacist would be justified in refusing to fill a scrip for BCPs? What’s the difference. And let’s not forget that the guy is a fucking _employee_. He gets paid to fill scrips, period. If he has a moral objection to doing his job then he needs to find another line of work. ---
**Author:** ![kung\_fu\_lola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@kung\_fu\_lola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kung_fu_lola)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2004, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacist-refuses-to-fill-prescription-for-abortion-pill-on-moral-grounds/227515/107 "2004-02-06T20:59:35Z")
Mtgman, **if** that zygote was the pharmacist’s patient, then it was also the rape victim’s child, and as its mother, she had every right to refuse it whatever medical treatment the pharmacist wanted to give it, since it was obviously not at the age of consent. ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2004, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacist-refuses-to-fill-prescription-for-abortion-pill-on-moral-grounds/227515/108 "2004-02-06T21:01:22Z")
> [@blowero](#): > > \*\* Better yet, he should be raped\*\* and forced to raise the child of his rapist. Holy shit. It really IS taking longer than we thought. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2004, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacist-refuses-to-fill-prescription-for-abortion-pill-on-moral-grounds/227515/109 "2004-02-06T21:02:53Z")
> [@blowero](#): > > he should be raped and forced to raise the child of his rapist. :eek: I predict a strange and exciting new direction for this thread. ---
**Author:** ![SnoopyFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d07c76/32.png) [@SnoopyFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnoopyFan)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2004, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacist-refuses-to-fill-prescription-for-abortion-pill-on-moral-grounds/227515/110 "2004-02-06T21:12:37Z")
Gee. Last I checked sperm and egg meet somewhere in the fallopian tube. And unless I was taught wrong in biology, conception occurs when sperm and egg meet, not when it attaches to the uterine wall. Either Diogenes flunked 10th grade bio or he’s so blinded by his adoration of abortion that further discussion of the MAP is useless. Lalala, he can’t hear you. ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2004, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacist-refuses-to-fill-prescription-for-abortion-pill-on-moral-grounds/227515/111 "2004-02-06T21:17:10Z")
God forgive me but you’re more obtuse than a ranch style roof. **MAP prevents the joining of egg and sperm if ovulation has not occured.** If the egg and sperm have gotten married because they love each other very much, and if that zygote has implanted into the uterine wall, the MAP DOES NOTHING. THE MAP WILL NOT ABORT THE PREGNANCY. Yes, on the off chance that the joined egg and sperm are in that tiny…TINY window of time where they travel from tube to wall, it will be destroyed…but my GOD. WHAT ARE THE FUCKING CHANCES? ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2004, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacist-refuses-to-fill-prescription-for-abortion-pill-on-moral-grounds/227515/112 "2004-02-06T21:23:26Z")
> [@SnoopyFan](#): > > Lalala, he can’t hear you. That’s a fucking laff riot, considering that you have been the queen of selective responses in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2004, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacist-refuses-to-fill-prescription-for-abortion-pill-on-moral-grounds/227515/113 "2004-02-06T21:24:51Z")
> [@SnoopyFan](#): > > Gee. Last I checked sperm and egg meet somewhere in the fallopian tube. And unless I was taught wrong in biology, conception occurs when sperm and egg meet, not when it attaches to the uterine wall. Either Diogenes flunked 10th grade bio or he’s so blinded by his adoration of abortion that further discussion of the MAP is useless. Lalala, he can’t hear you. You were taught wrong. Pregnancy begins when the egg is implanted. This implantation thing is a red herring anyway. The MAP works by preventing ovulation. Should a pharmacist have the right to refuse to fill prescriptions for birth-control pills? ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2004, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacist-refuses-to-fill-prescription-for-abortion-pill-on-moral-grounds/227515/114 "2004-02-06T22:50:41Z")
> [@jarbabyj](#): > > Holy shit. It really IS taking longer than we thought. :rolleyes: Words speak jarbabyj no understand blowero. ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2004, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacist-refuses-to-fill-prescription-for-abortion-pill-on-moral-grounds/227515/115 "2004-02-06T23:37:51Z")
> [@kung fu lola](#): > > Mtgman, **if** that zygote was the pharmacist’s patient, then it was also the rape victim’s child, and as its mother, she had every right to refuse it whatever medical treatment the pharmacist wanted to give it, since it was obviously not at the age of consent. 😕 What treatment was the pharmacist trying to give the zygote? He’s not trying to do anything, in fact he’s trying NOT to do anything. **Diogenes** I’m tired of playing semantic games. I didn’t say the MAP was capable of aborting a post-implantation pregnancy(like RU-486). The pharmacist said no such thing. The entire conversation has been about post-fertilization, pre-implantation. All the quotes have been about “life” which, biologically speaking, begins before implantation(the point was called conception prior to the 60’s and is currently called fertilization). If you’re going to descend to the levels of semantic nitpickery where you differentiate between the current medical definitions of fertilization versus conception(although I’m sure you know the common connotations are the same) then at least do the curtesy of advising the other participants so we can switch terms too. And yes, if a pharmacist believes BC pills would cause harm to some portion of humanity(check the oath) then he would be obliged to refuse to dispense them. Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2004, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacist-refuses-to-fill-prescription-for-abortion-pill-on-moral-grounds/227515/116 "2004-02-06T23:54:02Z")
> [@mouthbreather](#): > > That’s a fucking laff riot, considering that you have been the queen of selective responses in this thread. _This_ thread? Try searching for her others. ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2004, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacist-refuses-to-fill-prescription-for-abortion-pill-on-moral-grounds/227515/117 "2004-02-07T00:15:58Z")
> [@blowero](#): > > Words speak jarbabyj no understand blowero. jarbabyj say: he who wish rape on anyone in this world is an ignorant, sadistic motherfucker. ---
**Author:** ![mouthbreather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a698b9/32.png) [@mouthbreather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mouthbreather)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2004, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacist-refuses-to-fill-prescription-for-abortion-pill-on-moral-grounds/227515/118 "2004-02-07T00:23:56Z")
> [@Mr2001](#): > > _This_ thread? Try searching for her others. I haven’t been SDMBing over the past year as much as I used to. If this thread is any indication of her typical posting habits, I’ll consider this a lesson learned and just ignore her to begin with in the future. ---
**Author:** ![beagledave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6de8d8/32.png) [@beagledave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beagledave)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2004, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacist-refuses-to-fill-prescription-for-abortion-pill-on-moral-grounds/227515/119 "2004-02-07T01:55:35Z")
> [@jarbabyj](#): > > Yes, on the off chance that the joined egg and sperm are in that tiny…TINY window of time where they travel from tube to wall? It’s not a **“tiny”** window of time (relatively speaking for the very early stages of development) From [here](http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/S/Sexual_Reproduction.html) It takes about 2-3 days to travel down the tube to the uterus and imbeds in the wall about a week after fertilization. The MAP does prevent “pregnancy” in all cases (the term “pregnancy” in this context, usually referring to implantation…NOT to the start of life) , that’s not the same as saying it prevents the start of a new human life. Indeed, as the link points out, > [@](#): > > Embryonic development begins while the fertilized egg is still within the fallopian tube FWIW…for me (I self identify as pro life) , I (currently) take a position similar to lavender’s on the first page of this thread. My understanding of the science (as her link emphasizes) is that we don’t know exactly how the MAP acts in different scenarios…we don’t KNOW if it effectively prevents implantation by changing the nature of the uterine wall…and there is ample evidence to suggest that it does not do so. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2004, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacist-refuses-to-fill-prescription-for-abortion-pill-on-moral-grounds/227515/120 "2004-02-07T05:19:04Z")
> [@Mtgman](#): > > 😕 What treatment was the pharmacist trying to give the zygote? He’s not trying to do anything, in fact he’s trying NOT to do anything. > > **Diogenes** I’m tired of playing semantic games. I didn’t say the MAP was capable of aborting a post-implantation pregnancy(like RU-486). The pharmacist said no such thing. The entire conversation has been about post-fertilization, pre-implantation. All the quotes have been about “life” which, biologically speaking, begins before implantation(the point was called conception prior to the 60’s and is currently called fertilization). If you’re going to descend to the levels of semantic nitpickery where you differentiate between the current medical definitions of fertilization versus conception(although I’m sure you know the common connotations are the same) then at least do the curtesy of advising the other participants so we can switch terms too. > > And yes, if a pharmacist believes BC pills would cause harm to some portion of humanity(check the oath) then he would be obliged to refuse to dispense them. > > Enjoy, > Steven A pregnancy does no begin until implantation (and there is no fucking “embryonic development” before implantation. there isn’t even an embryo). The chances for preventing implantation of a fertilized egg are remote anyway. The pharmacist was an ignorant fuck but that’s beside the point. The point is that he’s a fucking _employee_. He has no right whatsoever to interfere with a woman’s right to emergency contraception after a rape. He is severely fucking with _her_ civil rights at that moment and he is fucking with the business which pays him. If he has a big fucking problem with doing his job then he can find another fucking line of work. His behavior was completely unacceptable. That woman should have climbed over the counter and stomped his fucking controlling, self-righteous, _ignorant_ ass, and then he should have been fired on the spot (and those other two bitches right along with him). The owner of the pharmacy has no obligation to continue to employ a prick who won’t serve the customers appropriately and keep his ignorant-ass opinions to himself. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacist-refuses-to-fill-prescription-for-abortion-pill-on-moral-grounds/227515.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pharmacist-refuses-to-fill-prescription-for-abortion-pill-on-moral-grounds/227515.md?page=7)