| ShyShy |
13th December 2004 07:34 |
Pharmacist denying birth control
First off, I could've sworn I had posted a previous article regarding this subject this past summer. So, I'll post it now, and then post another article I just found.
Quote:
News article from Times:
Monday, Jun. 07, 2004
Neil Noesen, a relief *******ist at the Kmart in Menomonie, Wis., was the only person on duty one day in 2002 when a woman came in to refill her prescription for the contraceptive Loestrin FE. According to a complaint filed by the Wisconsin department of regulation and licensing, Noesen refused because of his religious opposition to birth control. He also declined to transfer the prescription to a nearby *******y and refused once again when the woman returned to the store with police. The prescription was filled several days later by the managing *******ist. But Noesen was accused of unprofessional conduct and will face an administrative law judge on June 22. Antiabortion groups are urging Wisconsin officials not to punish Noesen. He and his attorney did not comment.
The Wisconsin case and two similar ones in Texas have prompted fears among pro-choice groups that antiabortion forces are taking their fight to the *******y counter. The American *******ists Association says *******ists should be allowed to refuse to fill a prescription. If they do, however, it ought to be filled by someone else or transferred to another *******y, the group has said. Laws are vague on the subject. But two states, South Dakota and Arkansas, have passed laws that explicitly protect *******ists who refuse to fill birth-control prescriptions on moral or religious grounds. Similar legislation has been introduced in 13 other states. Karen Brauer, who says she was fired by Kmart in 1996 for refusing to fill a birth-control prescription and is now president of *******ists for Life, says such laws are needed. "*******ists are being expected to do things that they do not believe they should do," she says. Counters Gloria Feldt, president of Planned Parenthood: "The question here is whose conscience counts. This is about a woman's most fundamental right of choosing when to have a child."
From the Jun. 07, 2004 issue of TIME magazine
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Quote:
The Drugstore War
NEW YORK, Nov. 23, 2004
After Idalia and Jose Moran's son was born by C-section, Idalia Moran's doctor advised her not to get pregnant again for two to three years, and prescribed the pill.
CBS News Correspondent Byron Pitts reports when she went to the *******y, the cashier said, "You know what? I cannot refill them because the *******ist says it's against his religion because it's abortion."
Moran told CBS she was stunned and ashamed.
"I felt really bad, because I thought maybe these are for abortion," Moran said. "I don't know."
Across the country, more and more *******ists are refusing to fill prescriptions for religious reasons.
South Dakota, Arkansas and Mississippi even have refusal clauses on the books. And 13 other states are considering mixing medicine with morality.
At Lloyd's *******y in Gray, La., Lloyd Duplantis believes in prayer.
"God bless the great state of Louisiana, the parish…In the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit…" Duplantis said in a makeshift prayer group in the middle of his store.
And he believes birth control is tantamount to abortion. So, he stocks his shelves accordingly.
"I don’t sell condoms. I don't sell foams. I don't sell creams," Duplantis said. "I don't sell anything to do with contraception."
He said, even if a woman who was the victim of incestuous rape walked in his door after having been prescribed the pill, he wouldn't change his policy.
"I would tell her that I can't prescribe this," Duplantis said.
Few question a *******ist's right to make a moral choice. But doesn't one have a distinct responsibility as a *******ist?
"That's right, and that's what I'm doing," Duplantis said. "There's science supporting my moral decision."
Four out of five Americans disagree with Duplantis. In a CBS News/New York Times poll, 80 percent of respondents said even if *******ists have religious objections to contraceptives, they should not let it interfere with their job.
Just 16 percent think *******ists should refuse to dispense birth control pills on religious grounds if they choose.
Gloria Feldt, president of Planned Parenthood, believes the surge in these cases is as much about politics as it is about religion.
"It's a very ominous trend," Feldt said. "I think the anti-choice right extremists have become emboldened by the current administration in Washington and they feel they are in the political ascendancy."
But Duplantis says he's no extremist, just a Christian businessman.
"I want everyone to have freedom of choice to help them achieve what they want," he said.
In his *******y, he advocates "natural" family planning. He convinced one woman, Stephanie Melacon, to no longer takes birth control pills. She made the decision based on what Duplantis told her about the side effects.
As for Idalia Moran, she eventually got her birth control pills. But she had to drive 30 miles to a different *******ist.
"Being a *******ist…you should leave your religion or whatever aside," Moran said.
It's one debate that will not be put aside quietly.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/...in657435.shtml
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Personally, I don't think it's right for a *******ist to deny birth control. A lot of women who go on birth control, do it not just for preventing pregnancy, but for medical reasons, too. What right does a *******ist have to make that distinction? My best friend in high school had ovarian cysts, and used BC pills to help regulate her periods. Quite a number of gals use it to help with acne.
But, for the sole owner *******ist, if that's how he/she wants the business run, then doctors in that area need to be informed and so do insurance companies. |
