"Gov. Rod Blagojevich approved an emergency rule Friday requiring pharmacies to fill birth control prescriptions quickly after a Chicago pharmacist refused to fill an order because of moral opposition to the drug.The emergency rule takes effect immediately for 150 days while the administration seeks a permanent rule."
A pharmacist can make whatever decisions they like about their own life, own medical treatment, whatever. But they should not be able to interfere with the legal medical choices between a patient and a doctor.
A pharmacist's role is to dispense medication. Beyond that, they are valuable in helping a patient determine effects of multiple medications (especially if the patient has multiple doctors and one pharmacist).
But the minute we allow someone to interfere in the medical decisions between a patient and a doctor for any reason not based on facts, but on their personal beliefs, we have a huge problem.
If a pharmacist wants to open his or her own shop loudly proclaiming that they are a "christian" pharmacy and will only dispense those drugs approved by the churches, they are free to do so. But when I walk into a pharmacy—like a Walgreen's or Bartell's—I'd better not get any flak from them about their religious beliefs. Go to church and gimmee my drugs.
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