[MineralMan]

"The problem is that some states and/or courts are now forcing companies to sell contraceptives, to include contraceptives in their health plans, etc."

Interesting that you should mention contraceptives. What if you went into Walgreen's with your prescription for birth control pills or even just to buy a pack of condoms, and the Roman Catholic pharmacists behind the counter wouldn't sell them? After all, Roman Catholics consider it sinful to use contraceptives. Is that OK, too? There's a line to be drawn here somewhere.

For me, the line is that I do not allow others to dictate such things to me, as a customer. If my doctor and I have decided that I need some medication, the religious beliefs of the pharmacist at my local Walgreens is irrelevant.

The pharmacist is not taking the medication. I am. It is my choice, in conference with my physician. Let the pharmacist avoid using whatever drugs he wishes. It is my prescription, not his.

Using the logic being presented here, there would be no problem with that Roman Catholic pharmacist refusing to fill any contraceptive prescriptions. He's not the one taking them.

[syriacus]

If my doctor and I have decided that I need some medication, the religious beliefs of the pharmacist at my local Walgreens is irrelevant.

In effect..

you will insist the pharmacist lose his livelihood,
instead of getting in your car to drive to another drug store?

[Steve_Seattle]

"I do not allow others to dictate such things to me, as a customer. If my doctor and I have decided that I need some medication, the religious beliefs of the pharmacist at my local Walgreens is irrelevant."

As a matter of fact, as a customer you have no right to demand anything of a retailer other than that they obey the laws. Retailers might refuse to handle all sorts of merchandise that you want. They might boycott products from certain countries, or from certain manufacturers, or refuse to carry specific kinds of products, because they have a moral objection to something about the country, the manufacturer, or the product. For example, some stores no longer carry cigarettes; some do not carry "adult" magazines; some do not sell firearms; some sell only "free trade" items; the US government prohibits the import of Cuban cigars; some businesses sell only "organic" fruits and vegetables; and so forth. And my guess is that if you were a business owner, there might even be products that YOU would refuse to carry because of some moral objection. The real problem in the Walgreen's case is that the governor is telling Walgreen's what they have to sell; that is what I object to. When the government issues a blanket edict like that, it takes away all options for the pharmacists with moral objections to the abortion pill. It literally costs them their livelihood.