Woman: Pharmacist denied birth-control prescription

[elfwitch]

Man I hate lving in North Texas. If it's not one psycho religious fanatic doing something stupid it's another.

FORT WORTH -- A first-grade teacher says she is troubled that a pharmacist refused to fill her birth-control prescription, citing personal objections to contraception.

Julee Lacey, who has been married nine years and has two children, said she went to a CVS drug store in North Richland Hills, a Fort Worth suburb, on Sunday night but left empty-handed. Other pharmacists there had filled her birth-control prescription previously, she said.

"What happens if next time she decides not to fill something else?" Lacey, 32, said Tuesday. "When you go to a pharmacy with a doctor's prescription, you expect it to be filled. More than anything, I want people to be aware this can happen."

The pharmacist told her she could go to another store, but Lacey said driving there and filling out paperwork as a new customer would have taken too much time. When Lacey's husband went to the CVS a short time later, the pharmacist continued refusing and said birth control "was not right" and that the pills cause cancer, Lacey said.

But a store supervisor apologized and said CVS would examine its policy, Lacey said, and an employee delivered the pills to her home Monday night. She said she is not sure if she will remain a CVS customer and plans to file a complaint about that pharmacist with the Texas State Board of Pharmacy.

State law allows pharmacists to decline filling prescriptions if the medication could harm the patient but not for moral reasons, according to the board.

(more)http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/2476143

[RebelOne]

1. Boy, I hope CVS fires his ass.

[elfwitch]

4. At the bottom of the article

It says that the last guy that did this was fired as were his co-workers who refused to fill an emergency contraceptive prescription for a rape victim.

[mindfulNJ]

2. He should be fired.

Why do these fundie nut cases become pharmacists in the first place?:crazy:

[Toucano]

12. Good point!

Aren't those microscopes and such the tools of the devil? :)

[havocmom]

14. Probably a well orchestrated strategy from a national fundie group

Amazing that all of a sudden we have pharmacists overcome with objections about doing one part of their job. As I have watched people coming out of fundie churches carrying church sponsored/published voter guides the Sunday before elections, I can easily surmise there is some quasi-offical instruction to do this RX bs.

How about this: A bunch of emergency response people (paramedics, EMTs, firemen) decide that it is blasphemy to interfere with God's will and that responses to illness, accident, fires was a violation of that will. How would the pharmacists in question feel about religious expression and conviction hindering response teams from rescuing them?

We need to find out who is behind this sudden and simultaneous moral 'awakening' among these licensed professionals. We need to show a conspiracy to practice medicine without license and nail somebody for forcing their religious agenda on others in violation of their civil rights and their medical well being.

This is just another chapter in the book of people who got busted for posting pictures and personal info of clinic workers in the form of WANTED: posters on web sites and then acting all surprised when some of those people got killed.

[Dhalgren]

17. The phamacist was a woman.

[DarkPhenyx]

3. Again?!?

Is this a new case, or the one that we had a couple months ago?

[elfwitch]

5. Alas...

It is a new one. The old one is dicussed at the end of the article.

[DarkPhenyx]

10. Oh for crying out loud!

ASPRIN!!! has negative health affects. Pharmicists are not physicians. I cannot believe they actually have a law where they can refuse you a perscription because they think it might be bad for you.

[demnan]

6. They should fire the pharmacist

I'm sure he/she was hired to fill prescriptions, not make moral judgements.

[buddy22600]

9. I think he should be fired

But doesn't the article say that he can refuse to fill a prescription if he thinks it will harm a person? He said that it causes cancer, so he may get away with it.

[spanone]

7. He should lose his license. NOW!

[kiahzero]

8. He shouldn't be fired, but shouldn't be able to work alone

I don't think people should be fired for their religious beliefs, and IIRC, there is federal law preventing it. At the same time, this pharmacist shouldn't be permitted to be the only one at the store, since he's not able to perform all of the duties necessary.

On second thought, though... the misinformation about "the pills caus<ing> cancer" might be enough to sack his ass.

[AndyP]

11. he should be fired

he's not going to be fired for his religious beliefs but for the fact that he denied a patient their medicine, and then stating that the reason that "it is wrong"? That's not a medical reason. Can him.

[Toucano]

16. Possible error

Isn't it against his religion to practice contraception? No one is making him practice contraception by dispensing birth control pills.

He is trying to impose his religious belief on someone else.

All drugs harm some patients. Just check out the side effects. Since he can't tell who will have a adverse reactions to the drugs he dispenses, he shouldn't dispense any.

[kiahzero]

20. Right, and I understand that

However, he is "enabling" contraception to occur. If I were against contraception, I'd have a problem dispensing birth control too.

My understanding of federal law is that there is legislation that prevents employers from retaliating against employees who, for example, take off holy days. I'm not positive, but I believe that same law applies here. I'll have to do some research later.

Is he trying to impose his religious belief on someone else? Absolutely, and it pisses me off. But, do I think he should be fired for it? I'm not really sure.

[Az]

21. Try this question from below

Christian Scientists do not believe any medication or invasive processes should be allowed. Suppose a pharmecist conversts to Christian Scientist. Should they be allowed to keep their job despite their refusal to distribute any medication?

[truthspeaker]

22. ...assuming she was even using it for contraception

Many women take birth control pills to control cramps, heavy menstrual bleeding, and acne. I know a lesbian who takes the pill and never, ever, intends to have sex with a man.

[Az]

13. What if a Christian Scientist had a job as a pharmecist?

Would they be allowed to deny medication to all customers?

[playahata1]

15. From what I understand,

Christian Scientists do not believe in medicine/modern medical developments, period. They believe that only God can heal you, etc. Thus, I do not think that any Christian Scientist would go into the pharmacy/medical profession.

Do correct me if I am wrong. Any Christian Science DUers out there? Are there any DUers who know a Christian Scientist, or more about the group's basic beliefs? Peace.

[Az]

19. Hence the question

Would it be allowed for a Chrisitian Scientist to refuse to distribute medication? Would their job be protected by their belief?

Although how they got the job should not matter consider this scenario. A person takes a job as a phramecist. At some time they convert to Christian Scientist. They then refust to distribute medication. Would their job be protected by their freedom of religion?

[lapislzi]

24. Az, normally I'm on your side, but...

IF said pharmacist just sat there all day NOT dispensing medications, then he technically wouldn't be doing his job, and would get fired. Would he be fired for his religious beliefs? No, he'd be fired for incompetence.

I would suggest that if your religious beliefs are incompatible with your job, you need to find another line of work. Or find some moral accommodation within your own conscience that allows you to continue your work.

You don't find too many Jews or Muslims working in pork rendering plants, now, do you?

[snippy]

18. This is the America the republican party wants.

Some group needs to do a series of ads about all of these cases. There are a lot of republican voters who are oblivious about the extent of the power of the Reich wing fundamentalists and who would be angry about these situations. There are even more non-voters who would be upset. Some of those republicans and non-voters would realize that the only way to stop this kind of Bushshit is to vote democratic.

[bloom]

23. Fire the pharmacist

All drugs have side-effects.

"State law allows pharmacists to decline filling prescriptions if the medication could harm the patient but not for moral reasons, according to the board. "

It should be the FDA or something making decisions like this, not every pharmacist at the CVS or wherever.

[skippysmom]

25. That's ludicrous

It's awful that in this day in age that women can't get a prescription that is LEGAL. Discussions of the ethics of using BCP should be between a woman, her partner if she has one, and her doctor.

Pharmacists are there to dispense drugs that doctors prescribe. If a pharmacist doesn't want to dispense certain drugs, then he/she shouldn't be a pharmacist.

(Though why should I be surprised, when in this country a friend of mine was prescribed BCP to control an ovarian cyst and was informed by her health insurance company that they don't cover those pills.)