Pharmacists' rights of conscience protected – for now

Pharmacists who have moral objections to dispensing chemicals that cause abortions have won the latest battle in their war with the abortion industry, which is trying to force them to dispense drugs such as RU-486 in violation of their conscience.

The 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled that pharmacists in Washington state will be protected during an appeal by state officials who earlier imposed a requirement for them to dispense abortifacients.

The ruling means, according to the Alliance Defense Fund, that a court order to suspend those newly approved state rules will remain in effect during arguments in the case.

The state regulations were written to force pharmacies and pharmacists to stock and distribute abortion-inducing drugs regardless of their religious or moral opposition.

"Pharmacists and other health-care workers shouldn't be punished for abiding by their beliefs," said Erik Stanley, a senior counsel for the ADF. "They should never be forced to abandon their pro-life convictions in order to appease a government agenda, even while an appeal moves forward in court.

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"No one should ever be forced to choose between keeping their career and honoring their faith," he said.

The 9th Circuit said in its ruling last week that the state of Washington failed to demonstrate that the abortion-inducing drugs, including the so-called "Plan B" drug, weren't readily available already.

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington several months ago had issued a preliminary injunction against the new state rules during the course of a lawsuit filed against state officials over the issue. The state then asked that to be overturned.

When the case was filed, Kristen Waggoner, of the Seattle-based law firm Ellis, Li & McKinstry, said, "The right to conscientiously object to the taking of human life is deeply rooted in our nation's history and laws. The 'morning-after' pill can unnaturally and deliberately kill innocent human life."

The lower court's original order found "the regulations appear to target religious practice in a way forbidden by the Constitution" "and "appear to intentionally place a significant burden on the free exercise of religion for those who believe life begins at conception…"

The case developed when Kevin Stormans, an owner of Ralph's Thriftway, got a telephone call about the availability of Plan B. After discovering the abortion-inducing results, Stormans, a Christian, decided his store would not stock the product.

Activists then launched a picketing campaign against him, and filed complaints with the Washington Board of Pharmacy. Eventually his company, along with two individual pharmacists, were forced into the court action.

The battle, however, won't be concluded when the appeals court eventually decides this case.

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Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y.

WND has reported Democrats in Congress have been proposing fines for pharmacies of up to $500,000 if the pharmacists follow their conscience and decline to dispense abortifacient chemicals.

"Pharmacists are professionals, not vending machines," said Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America, said at the time "The FDA has been known to make mistakes in approving drugs, and doctors have made mistakes in prescribing. Pharmacists provide a line of defense to ensure that patients' lives and health are protected and can make patients aware of ethical concerns.

"Yet this bill would punish pharmacists up to $500,000 for acting on their ethical duty," she said.

The new plan, called the "Access to Birth Control Act," originally was pushed forward by U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., and Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J.

Among the groups supporting the requirement were NARAL Pro-Choice America and Planned Parenthood.

The law also allows "any person aggrieved" to file a civil lawsuit for "appropriate relief, including actual and punitive damages, injunctive relief, and a reasonable attorney's fee and cost."

Christian pharmacists already have taken stands that have cost them their jobs. Four Walgreens pharmacists were put on unpaid leave in an earlier case in Illinois.

Ann Polka, the manager for the Belleville, Ill., Catholic Diocese's Project Rachel, a post-abortion healing program, said the action was "unjust."

"They are being let go because they couldn't in good conscience dispense the drugs," she said.

Plan B essentially is a very high dosage of birth-control chemicals taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex to prevent ovulation or implantation. If ovulation is prevented, no egg is fertilized and no pregnancy occurs. But if ovulation has taken place and the egg is fertilized, the morning-after pill works to block implantation by the early embryo in the mother's womb. The embryo is aborted, making dispensing prescriptions for the pill a matter of conscience for pro-life pharmacists.

John Menges, one of the four Illinois pharmacists, said the FDA erred in classifying Plan B as an oral contraceptive since it performs the work of an abortifacient.

"This punitive bill would bankrupt pharmacists for doing what they believe protects people from harm," said Wright. "We need pharmacists with strong convictions about protecting life and health, but this bill would drive people with such convictions out of the pharmaceutical profession – which would be detrimental to all patients."

She noted that "ardent abortion activists" are promoting the plan, even though it would "criminalize 'freedom of choice' by forcing people to act against their beliefs."

Pharmacists For Life International, a group that opposes abortion, cites a study showing seven of 10 pharmacists believe they have a right to conscience in refusing to fill prescriptions for drugs that violate their moral, ethical or religious beliefs.

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