Posted on 02/13/2014 11:58:53 AM PST by Morgana
NASHVILLE, TN, February 13, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A Tennessee pharmacist who was fired for refusing to dispense the so-called “morning-after pill,” Plan B, has filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging religious discrimination by his former employers.
Dr. Philip Hall was fired in September after six years of employment with the Walgreens chain of drugstores. During those six years, Hall says he had received nothing but positive reviews from his employers, despite the fact that his Baptist beliefs prevented him from dispensing abortifacient drugs like Plan B. Because federal and state laws and Walgreens corporate policy all make allowance for pharmacists whose religious beliefs preclude them from dispensing certain drugs, Hall was allowed to ask another pharmacist to fill prescriptions for Plan B when they came in.
In August, the FDA ordered Plan B sold over-the-counter; however, because of its high cost, most pharmacies keep it under lock and key. When asked by his superiors how he would handle requests for the drug, Hall reminded them of his religious objections, and informed them that he would continue to follow corporate procedures allowing him to avoid dispensing the drug directly. He was immediately fired.
Click "like" if you are PRO-LIFE!
Now, with the help of lawyers from the Thomas More Society, Hall has sued the company, arguing that by firing him because of his religious beliefs, they violated his First Amendment rights.
“It is illegal for Walgreens to attempt to force employees like Dr. Hall to dispense certain drugs in violation of their religious and moral beliefs,” Thomas More Society attorney Jocelyn Floyd explained, “especially after six years of settled store practices showed that Walgreens could reasonably accommodate Dr. Hall’s religious beliefs with no difficulties.”
Co-counsel Larry Crain said, “Dr. Hall’s right to live according to his religious beliefs, including in his workplace, is protected both under the Federal Civil Rights Act and the Tennessee State Constitution. Americans have the right to live according to their sincerely held religious beliefs and not be forced to participate in actions that they deeply and sincerely believe are morally wrong.”
Hall says he has suffered greatly since his firing by Walgreens. Because he was terminated for cause, he was denied unemployment benefits during the three months it took him to find another job. When he did find a job, it came with a 120-mile round trip commute and a lower salary. He lost his health insurance, costing him thousands in medical bills. Ultimately, he wound up cashing in his entire retirement investment just to survive.
Hall said that by bringing the lawsuit, he hopes to force Walgreens to compensate him for the damages he has suffered as a result of his wrongful firing. But he emphasized that there is more at stake in the case than just his own well-being. If the lawsuit is successful, Hall said, it could prevent other pharmacy workers from being forced to choose between honoring their consciences and keeping their jobs.
good!
fight back
Pseudoephedrine or the plan B pill -
guess which one a 15 yr old girl has to have an ID to buy.
ObamaCare says its okay to bully businesses and pharmacists, especially pro-lifers, that have moral or religious objections. They exist beyond and outside the Constitution because they say so. Walgreens was just demonstrating the “new normal”.
Target Stores Change Duties for Muslim Cashiers Who Object to Ringing Up Pork
The Tennessee General Assembly has considered a bill to make pseudaphed a prescription drug. So in Tennessee you would need a prescription to get something for a stuffy head but not for an abortion.
[ Target, on the other hand, provided options for Muslim cashiers who didn’t want to handle meat.
Target Stores Change Duties for Muslim Cashiers Who Object to Ringing Up Pork ]
If I ever go to a store and they refuse to check me out because I bought bacon I am walking out and leaving all the goods on the conveyor belt...
Screw them all
My Jewish cashier never whined about pork like it was Kryptonite... My catholic cashier never refused to check out my beef purchase on a Friday... My Hindu cashier never refused to check out ANY animal products either..
Do you know why it’s okay to offend Christians but not Muslims. Because Muslims KILL PEOPLE when they are offended. Maybe what the Christian church needs is a few old fashioned riots where a couple of government buildings are torched and some government officials are beheaded. THEN maybe we can get some respect.
It should stay between him and walgreens, the gov should not be involved in this case...
If part of your job is dispensing things you don’t agree with, then isn’t it time to find another job?
That is like someone who is a militant raw vegan wanting to work at McDonalds, gee can they even do their job at all?
“My Jewish cashier never whined about pork like it was Kryptonite... My catholic cashier never refused to check out my beef purchase on a Friday... “
Aw come on. As Catholics we just can’t eat it on Friday but we are allowed to touch it!
As for the Jews I have a good story on that one. Once when I was at the university was told of a Jewish kid who worked in the kitchen. They told him to go check the bacon that was frying. He did and made a joke about it. As he was turning it over he said “Pigs for the unbelievers, pigs for the unbelievers”. Everyone got a kick out of it.
Someone could start a faux (pretend) faith of pork-worshippers called Uslim with its profit Mo’Ham-N-Eggs
I am sure there would be no controversy.
heh
Good for him. I hope he wins.
Unbelievable, isn’t it?
Sure, once BarryCare is in place Christians can sell violets on street corners rather than work because everyone who works will be forced into subsidizing infanticide.
If it's Ok for a business to take away inalienable rights it's Ok for the government to take them away.
I can't believe how people who claim to believe in the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights in particular, roll over like a well trained dog when it's a business that wants to take away an individuals inalienable rights.
A right is either inalienable or it isn't and if it is employers should have to accept the fact that the individuals they employ retain those rights 24/7/365 and cannot sign them away because they are inalienable.
Given that the same Constitution that enumerates our inalienable rights grants all individuals (and thereby corporations) the same rights there's no conflict between employer rights and employee rights until one or the other wants to make a subset of our inalienable rights mere contractual rights.
An improper, floating, definition of the corporation as an individual when that's convenient and as more than an individual when that's convenient are the root of the problem. If this stands, then the right to hire only employees who agree with your religious view will fall next. Then there will be the perfect Catch-22 of only religious organizations who hire no one not of their faith can be exempt from government regulation but it will be illegal to hire only those of your own faith.
This is not merely religious freedom but consciencious objection.
This is similar to forcing someone to have an abortion. In no way should one be forced to produce one.
Disgusting hypocrite rapist liberals at it again.
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