# Pitting Fundie Pharmacists Who Won't Fill Birth-Control Prescriptions **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 28, 2005, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-fundie-pharmacists-who-wont-fill-birth-control-prescriptions/296620 "2005-03-28T16:46:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-fundie-pharmacists-who-wont-fill-birth-control-prescriptions/296620/1 "2005-03-28T16:46:15Z")
[WaPo story here](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5490-2005Mar27.html). I know it’s come up tangentially in the [Judge Greer gets death threats](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=308901) thead, but I think it rates its own thread. > [@](#): > > Some pharmacists across the country are refusing to fill prescriptions for birth control and morning-after pills, saying that dispensing the medications violates their personal moral or religious beliefs. > > The trend has opened a new front in the nation’s battle over reproductive rights, sparking an intense debate over the competing rights of pharmacists to refuse to participate in something they consider repugnant and a woman’s right to get medications her doctor has prescribed. It has also triggered pitched political battles in statehouses across the nation as politicians seek to pass laws either to protect pharmacists from being penalized – or force them to carry out their duties. > > “This is a very big issue that’s just beginning to surface,” said Steven H. Aden of the Christian Legal Society’s Center for Law and Religious Freedom in Annandale, which defends pharmacists. “More and more pharmacists are becoming aware of their right to conscientiously refuse to pass objectionable medications across the counter. We are on the very front edge of a wave that’s going to break not too far down the line.” Look, idiots, if you knew ahead of time (which you did) that a presumably unavoidable part of the occupation you were choosing violated your moral tenets, _why did you choose that career path to begin with??_ And having chosen it, it’s pretty damned presumptious of you that you feel you should both be exempted from that part of your job, and have the right to keep your job anyway. Exactly why should the consciences of pharmacists be singled out for protection? If I were a geologist for a petroleum company, would I have the right to keep my job if I objected to helping plan the ANWR drilling, if I believed it was immoral on environmental grounds? Hell, no. If I were working for a company that got a contract relating to the Iraq war, would I have the right to keep my job while refusing to work on that? Nope. But fundie pharmacists feel that right should belong to them, and their supporters have apparently [passed laws in Georgia, Mississippi, Arkansas, and South Dakota](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/daily/graphics/pharmacist_032805.html) backing them up on this, and similar laws have been introduced in a half-dozen other states. If any state wants to pass a law protecting employees’ freedom to refuse work on grounds of conscience in _all_ employment situations, that would at least be equally fair to everyone. Commerce would likely grind to a halt, but it would be equally fair to everyone. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-fundie-pharmacists-who-wont-fill-birth-control-prescriptions/296620/2 "2005-03-28T16:50:17Z")
Lots of people are going to come in here and bitch about how they (the pharmacists) should be allowed to make their own moral choice. :rolleyes: x 1000. No one ever thinks about the rape victim, date rape/family rape/stranger rape, who tries to get a morning-after pill only to be greeted by a snotty pharmacist. The last time this came up the case was in a tiny little town, so it’s not like the woman had any alternatives, either. ---
**Author:** ![Fuji\_Kitakyusho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@Fuji\_Kitakyusho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuji_Kitakyusho)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-fundie-pharmacists-who-wont-fill-birth-control-prescriptions/296620/3 "2005-03-28T16:54:37Z")
I concur. Professional standards in pharmacy should prevent this sort of thing from occurring. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-fundie-pharmacists-who-wont-fill-birth-control-prescriptions/296620/4 "2005-03-28T16:58:26Z")
This is just so wrong. Would these people also agree that a librarian has the right to withold books from use because he/she objects morally to their content? ---
**Author:** ![jk1245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-fundie-pharmacists-who-wont-fill-birth-control-prescriptions/296620/5 "2005-03-28T17:06:05Z")
I actually think it should be acceptable for the pharmacist to refuse to fill it on personal grounds (though I would second the :rolleyes: and the “why did you enter this field” sentiments). To refuse to send it to another pharmacy (or refuse to fill it if there is no other pharmacy) though should be grounds to revoke the pharmacist’s license. Interesting concept of allowing people to be protected from firing for not doing work due to moral obejections. That could make for some interesting discussions ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-fundie-pharmacists-who-wont-fill-birth-control-prescriptions/296620/6 "2005-03-28T17:14:01Z")
> [@Spectre of Pithecanthropus](#): > > This is just so wrong. Would these people also agree that a librarian has the right to withold books from use because he/she objects morally to their content? Indeed. “No, I’m _not_ going to let you check out this Ann Coulter trash!” ---
**Author:** ![margin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@margin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/margin)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-fundie-pharmacists-who-wont-fill-birth-control-prescriptions/296620/7 "2005-03-28T17:18:11Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Indeed. “No, I’m _not_ going to let you check out this Ann Coulter trash!” With all due respect, I think they’re doing this deliberately. I think they’re going into this work specifically to deny birth control and so forth. It’s not something they didn’t think through; to the contrary, they thought it through very thoroughly. ---
**Author:** ![margin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@margin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/margin)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-fundie-pharmacists-who-wont-fill-birth-control-prescriptions/296620/8 "2005-03-28T17:20:29Z")
> [@jk1245](#): > > I actually think it should be acceptable for the pharmacist to refuse to fill it on personal grounds (though I would second the :rolleyes: and the “why did you enter this field” sentiments). To refuse to send it to another pharmacy (or refuse to fill it if there is no other pharmacy) though should be grounds to revoke the pharmacist’s license. > > Interesting concept of allowing people to be protected from firing for not doing work due to moral obejections. That could make for some interesting discussions You missed the part in the article where some pharmacists have seized the prescriptions and refused to return them to the woman involved. Because, you know, birth control is evil. Strangely enough, I have yet to hear of a case where a man has been denied his Viagra. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-fundie-pharmacists-who-wont-fill-birth-control-prescriptions/296620/9 "2005-03-28T17:26:27Z")
> [@margin](#): > > With all due respect, I think they’re doing this deliberately. I think they’re going into this work specifically to deny birth control and so forth. My apologies - I skipped past that part because it seemed pretty obvious. My point is, they don’t have a _legitimate_ claim to be doing what they’re doing. What this leaves is a straightforward power play to tell women what they can and can’t do with their own bodies. ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-fundie-pharmacists-who-wont-fill-birth-control-prescriptions/296620/10 "2005-03-28T17:27:56Z")
> [@margin](#): > > You missed the part in the article where some pharmacists have seized the prescriptions and refused to return them to the woman involved. Because, you know, birth control is evil. > > Strangely enough, I have yet to hear of a case where a man has been denied his Viagra. This has been my line of thought, too. Does any church or established religion have a specific stance on the use of Viagra? Because it seems they should. After all, if it’s god’s will that women not mess with their reproductive organs (i.e., birth control pills and other contraception), shouldn’t it also be the same for men? Or is it that people are supposed to procreate whatever it takes? ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-fundie-pharmacists-who-wont-fill-birth-control-prescriptions/296620/11 "2005-03-28T17:30:44Z")
> [@jk1245](#): > > To refuse to send it to another pharmacy (or refuse to fill it if there is no other pharmacy) though should be grounds to revoke the pharmacist’s license. No, _not filling it_ should be grounds for revoking licenses. That is their _job_. Their chosen _career_. I don’t really care what their morals are, you leave them at home, and if you really disapprove of something **legal** , you leave the job. I work for a not-for-profit. I disapprove highly of some of our fundraising tactics. However, if I outright refuse to do them, I’m going to have a serious talking-to from my boss. And my job is in no way related to the health industry. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-fundie-pharmacists-who-wont-fill-birth-control-prescriptions/296620/12 "2005-03-28T17:31:07Z")
How do the laws in SD, GA, MS and AK address the nonmaleficence principle? Conception for some women could cause great harm. Does the pharmacist with a moral objection to filling, for example, a birth control pill prescription interview the woman to find out why she’s filling it? I’m totally for a pharmacy owner’s _rights_ to not stock birth control pills or morning-after pills. If a pharmacist works for such a pharmacy, he or she can tell the prescription-holder that the place doesn’t carry it. If a pharmacist elects to not fill a prescription he or she finds morally reprehensible, I am not in favor protecting his/her job if his/her employer disagrees with and wishes to fire him/her because of his/her decision. ---
**Author:** ![margin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@margin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/margin)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-fundie-pharmacists-who-wont-fill-birth-control-prescriptions/296620/13 "2005-03-28T17:31:45Z")
> [@overlyverbose](#): > > This has been my line of thought, too. Does any church or established religion have a specific stance on the use of Viagra? Because it seems they should. After all, if it’s god’s will that women not mess with their reproductive organs (i.e., birth control pills and other contraception), shouldn’t it also be the same for men? Or is it that people are supposed to procreate whatever it takes? Well, see procreation for men is a right, but procreation for women is a responsibility. You can’t really like it, because if you do, you’re a slut. You’re supposed to only like it when you’re doing it with your lord and master, but…I haven’t really figured it out. I’d like to know how to reconcile the Viagra-is-okay people with the BC-is-evil people. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-fundie-pharmacists-who-wont-fill-birth-control-prescriptions/296620/14 "2005-03-28T17:37:17Z")
> [@margin](#): > > Well, see procreation for men is a right, but procreation for women is a responsibility. You can’t really like it, because if you do, you’re a slut. You’re supposed to only like it when you’re doing it with your lord and master, but…I haven’t really figured it out. “Lie back and think of England.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Khampelf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Khampelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khampelf)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-fundie-pharmacists-who-wont-fill-birth-control-prescriptions/296620/15 "2005-03-28T17:41:49Z")
Ok, how long until we have a Jehovah Witness EMT who wants to be able to refuse to give a blood transfusion? ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-fundie-pharmacists-who-wont-fill-birth-control-prescriptions/296620/16 "2005-03-28T17:44:45Z")
> [@jk1245](#): > > Interesting concept of allowing people to be protected from firing for not doing work due to moral obejections. That could make for some interesting discussions Fire them for refusing to provide medical care to those who do not share their religious beleifs. This is flat out religious discrimination. As someone who has worked in a medical field this is one of the most abhorrent things I have seen come down the pike. Personal moral objections my ass… ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-fundie-pharmacists-who-wont-fill-birth-control-prescriptions/296620/17 "2005-03-28T17:45:02Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > “Lie back and think of England.” 😃 Hopefully that wouldn’t involve thoughts of Prince Charles. Blech. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-fundie-pharmacists-who-wont-fill-birth-control-prescriptions/296620/18 "2005-03-28T17:48:57Z")
> [@The Sonoran Lizard King](#): > > Ok, how long until we have a Jehovah Witness EMT who wants to be able to refuse to give a blood transfusion? [quibble] EMT’s don’t give blood products, IIRC thats Registered Nurse or better. [/quibble] ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-fundie-pharmacists-who-wont-fill-birth-control-prescriptions/296620/19 "2005-03-28T17:54:09Z")
What about women who require the pill for severe menstrual cramps and PMS, or to treat endometriosis? If I had a pharmacist grab my prescription and refuse to give it back, I’d whip out my cell phone and tell him I was going to call the doctor who prescribed it, and inform him that said pharmacist is doing this. THEN, if he still didn’t give in, I’d tell him I would also be phoning the local police and reporting him for fucking theft. ---
**Author:** ![Neurotik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/91b2a8/32.png) [@Neurotik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neurotik)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2005, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-fundie-pharmacists-who-wont-fill-birth-control-prescriptions/296620/20 "2005-03-28T17:56:32Z")
> [@overlyverbose](#): > > This has been my line of thought, too. Does any church or established religion have a specific stance on the use of Viagra? Because it seems they should. After all, if it’s god’s will that women not mess with their reproductive organs (i.e., birth control pills and other contraception), shouldn’t it also be the same for men? Too bad your line of thought is idiotic and irrelevent. The church doesn’t have a stance on viagra the same way they don’t have a stance on fertility treatments. The objection isn’t to women messing with their reproductive organs, the objection is to artifically preventing the creation of life. My line of thought is the same as **UrbanChic’s**. It should be between the employer and the employee. If the employer has no problem with the employee not filling them out then OK, but the employee should get no protections if the employer doesn’t approve of his refusal. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-fundie-pharmacists-who-wont-fill-birth-control-prescriptions/296620.md?page=2)