Question by new name: What do people think of this? Pharmacist conscience bill passes Idaho House Committee?
Pharmacist conscience bill passes House Committee
http://www.idahostatesman.com/1306/story/702702.html
BOISE, Idaho — A House committee on Wednesday approved a bill to give pharmacists the ability to refuse to dispense birth control and other medications.
The so-called conscience protections are for pharmacists who have moral, ethical or religious objections to dispensing certain medications. Idaho law already gives hospitals and doctors authority not to fill prescriptions.
The bill passed on a voice vote and moves to the full House, where it stands a good chance of passage.
Idaho Pharmacy Board Executive Director Mark Johnston told the House State Affairs Committee on Wednesday that pharmacists already can deny drugs because there is no state law requiring them to fill prescriptions.
Johnston said the Pharmacy Board will remain neutral on the issue because it views the bill as a fight between anti-abortion and abortion-rights groups.
Rep. Erik Simpson, R-Idaho Falls, said the bill would protect pharmacists from being fired if they refuse to dispense a medication.
Representatives for several groups spoke in favor of the bill, citing the need for workplace religious freedom.
“Most of the people that would be affected by this, from a pro-life perspective, have a deep conviction,” said Jason Herring, a lobbyist for Right to Life of Idaho.
The bill’s opponents argue that it puts pharmacists’ rights above patient’s rights.
Idaho Women’s Network lobbyist Taryn Magrini said the bill could cause problems for patients in rural towns with only one pharmacy. She said some drugs, such as emergency contraceptives, must be taken within a certain time and it could be difficult to have to drive to multiple towns to find someone willing to dispense the drug.
Rep. Phylis King, D-Boise, said pharmacists shouldn’t be able to override a treatment decision made by a doctor. King has worked as an emergency medical technician.
“As a health care professional it’s not my job to judge a patient,” King said. “If you don’t believe in it, you get out of the business.”
The conscience clause movement grew across the country following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion. Some states, including Idaho, enacted laws to allow physicians and hospitals to refuse to perform abortions.
According to the National Conference of State Legislators, four states – Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi and South Dakota – have conscience laws that explicitly allow pharmacists to refuse to dispense the morning-after pill for moral reasons. Four other states have broad refusal laws that do not specifically mention pharmacists but could possibly be applied.
Best answer:
Answer by zon moy
probably move to another state since half the christians around would probably refuse to give me my medication if they knew my religious views.
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I hope and pray that Idaho is the beginning of something good. A Pharmacist should not have to dispense birth control, or plan b if their conscience would be seared- praise God for Idaho!
It’s appalling.
IF these people cannot perform their
jobs then they should find employment
that suits their religious beliefs.
Forcing their beliefs on others by
denying medication of any sort
is reprehensible.
It’s disgusting and unconstitutional.
Hopefully it will be challenged in court and overturned–like it has in every other state where such a challenge has occurred.
Discraceful. A pharmacist should mind his own business when it comes to imposing his/her religious views on a woman’s right to legal medications for the intent it was prescribed.
Where would we be as a nation if everybody who accepted a job they were morally objectionable about, and refused to do them, because the state law said it was ok to do that???
If you don’t want to dispense birth control pills, don’t take a job that requires you to…
If you do make the conscious decision to take a job that requires you to do something you find morally objectionable….tough. DO YOUR JOB!!!
It’s nice to see that beliefs of others are not forced upon the Pharmacists. It’s still a free country…
.
So you can’t get fired for refusing to do your job? That is a sweet deal they got going for them.
I don’t think it will be long before pharmacies that hire such people will be called out and people can decide to go elsewhere to shop.
Unconstitutional. Find another line of work if your religious beliefs get in the way of your oath and board certification.
I think its disgraceful. I think they have the right to never use it if they don’t believe in it and to not go into a line of work that they can’t perform the job description of due to beliefs. They don’t have the right to impose their religious views on others. How would this be different then going to the supermarket, getting to the cashier and having them refuse to ring up your order because as a Buddhist they have religious objection to people eating meat? Or a Muslim getting a job in a liquor store and refusing to sell alcohol?
Absolutely wrong in my opinion and should be changed. They should perform their duties. Birth control is a legal prescription. If I know of a pharmacy that has such a person and allows that I would take all my business elsewhere.
That’s just great.
They might as well give doctors the right to refuse to treat patients because of skin-colour, gender, sexuality, ethnicity or political and religious beliefs of the patient.
A person should not be forced to participate in any act that they see as immoral, ungodly or wrong.
Nobody forced them to become pharmacists.
If they aren’t willing to do their jobs, then they should seek another line of work.
now everybody take a deep breath……..let it out………OK.
First off the sender needs to check some very basic facts. The posting is riddled with inaccuracies. For instance. The first paragraph is fine. The second paragraph isn’t. Doctors do not FILL prescriptions they prescribe. Not all prescriptions are for medications either. Lab testing, physical therapy, etc. are ordered by a doctor’s prescription. And for a myriad of reasons they do refuse service on occasion.
Now, getting back to the central issue. Is it okay for a pharmacist to refuse to fill a prescription? The answer is yes. Now all of you out there screaming that I should just “DO MY JOB” read on. It’s obvious you don’t understand my job, so please don’t tell me how it should be done.
There are many reasons why a pharmacist will not fill a prescription. If we suspect it is a forgery we need to verify it. If the dose is completely out of whack. If the drug/directions etc. are illegible or missing. If there is a nasty interaction with the patient’s existing medications. If the patient is unable or unwilling to comply with legal requirements that are specific to the medication (i.e. narcotics, Accutane, etc.) And the list goes on. DId you see anything about moral objections in there?
Look, I’ve been a pharmacist for 21 years. The last time I heard of someone in my state (Utah, which is even more conservative than Idaho) refusing to fill a prescriptionon on moral grounds was NEVER!
The last time I refused to fill a prescription for another reason was yesterday…….and almost every day I work for that matter.
A fallacious point is made with regards to Plan B (which is what this whole brouhaha is about anyway). What if there is only one pharmacy in town. Since Plan B should be taken within 24 hours, does that mean that this small town pharmacy should be COMPELLED to be open 7 days a week, 365 days a year? And with a pharmacist who has agreed that they will sell Plan B under all circumstances. What if they have the unmitigated gall to close on a holiday…….say Christmas for example. They will denying the RIGHTS of those who wish to have unprotected intercourse on Christmas Eve.
My simple point is this. If by some astronomic chance you get a pharmacist that refuses to fill Plan B. Get back in your car and keep going a few miles. You’ve got 24 hours remember? Surely there is another pharmacy within a 24 hour radius. And by the way, when dirtbags come into my pharmacy on a Friday night wanting to buy a “10 pack of BD 1/2 cc shorts” for their diabetic grandma or some Coricidin Cough/Cold (because it’s the ONLY thing that works) I’ll be refusing them. Or perhaps they should have a right to attend their rave parties and inject heroin. Right?