Posted on 04/04/2005 7:52:34 AM PDT by SmithL
A bill making its way through the Legislature would protect state pharmacists for refusing to fill certain prescriptions.
The Pharmacists Freedom of Conscience Act would free from liability or disciplinary measures any pharmacist who cites moral or religious objections to dispensing things like birth control pills or Viagra.
Republican House sponsor Glen Casada of College Grove says pharmacists need such a law, since doctors and nurses are protected in a similar fashion.
However, opponents of the legislation believe it's a disguised effort to limit access to contraceptives.
Frankly, while I agree with the liability protection, pharmacists who refuse to carry out their employers' orders should NOT be protected from being fired.
Is this federal or just one state?
I think the decision of whether or not contraceptives should be dispensed should be up to the business owner, not the individual pharmacist. This bill basically says a business owner cannot fire an employee. That's wrong IMO.
That's precisely what I meant.
A pharmacist shouldn't be allowed to refuse to fill orders any more than a soldier should be allowed to refuse to go to war. They both knew what they were siging up for. This is ridiculous. And we often hear that businesses are not nonprofits, they are for making money, not doing good or following an agenda.
Birth control is not abortion. And BC pills are often used for other medical conditions, not just to control reproduction. The pharmacists need to do their job or find a new line of work.
If nothing else, "Republican House sponsor Glen Casada of College Grove" seems to say it's the latter.
Notice that they conveneintly forgot to mention that it is not pirth control pills or Viagra that a lot of pharmicists have a problem, it is drugs like RU-486 and other abortifactants that they are refusing to dispense.
My wife is a pharmacists and she will absolutely refuse to fill a prescription whose sole purpose is to kill an unborn baby. She works in a hospital and on numerous occassions whe has been asked to fill a prescription for a drug that could be used to terminate a pregnancy and each time she makes SURE that the reason that it is being dispensed is because the baby has already died and needs to be expelled from the womb.
What about a pharmacist who owns the pharmacy?
Pharmacists who's religious beliefs preclude them from dispensing certain drugs should have the integrity to resign or refer the prescription to a different
pharmacist.
I thought we all here hated conscientious objectors joining the military then trying to get out of hazardous duty based on their beliefs. This is the same thing.
Here's a hint: If you can't do the job, then don't take the job.
Exactly, if they own the business, they should be able to do whatever they want. In the end, they are the ones who face the consequence of their actions. A pharmacist who refuses and gets fired, can find another job. A business owner stands to lose their business, and their investment in that business.
BCP's and Viagra are not the issue. In fact I have never even heard of a pharmacist refusing to fill a script for those two. It is RU-486 that is the problem.
Besides, Planned Parenthood gives them out like candy at Halloween.
At that point I think it's pure business. He can decide not to stock any drug he doesn't agree with. He'll lose business accordingly, but that's his problem.
It would help greatly to know in what state this is occurring.
That's my position, too. But, I'm waiting to see the blue stater's reply.
The link and topics list seems to say it's Tennessee. But, I agree; people who post such stuff ought to include a byline.
Pretty much. "Thanks for hiring me - now, here's a list of the parts of my job that I'm not going to do..."
There are morning after pills that are like abortions. Pharmacists are people and should be able to follow their conscience. They just should work for someone who shares their philosophy. It is crazy to assume everyone must submit to the PC mindset.
Hardly. We don't agree with military conscientious objectors. See the difference?
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