by Gretchen Borchelt and Jill Morrison
According to this press report, two pharmacists and a pharmacy owner have sued over a regulation passed by the Washington state pharmacy board that ensures women access to contraception in the pharmacy. According to the article, they claim that the regulation forces them to “choos[e] between their livelihoods and their deeply held religious and moral beliefs.”
That’s just wrong. For a full explanation of why these kinds of claims should fail, see our legal guide.
But here’s the super short version:
Repeat after us:
Pharmacies [fahr-muh-sees]
Pharmacists [fahr-muh-sists]
Now the slightly longer version:
The rule in question applies to pharmacies, not to individual pharmacists. So pharmacies in Washington have a duty to deliver medications to patients. That means individual pharmacists can refuse, as long as there is some other way for pharmacies to get the medication to the patient. That could include scheduling two pharmacists for the same shift or having another pharmacist on call. As we said in our comments supporting the rule, this protects the patient’s access to medication while still respecting the beliefs of individual pharmacists. And it’s the same as what all the major pharmacy chains require.
To be fair, it is true that if there is absolutely no other way for a pharmacy to get the drug to the patient, then a refusing pharmacist might have to dispense. But guess what? That’s consistent with federal law. Title VII says an employer must accommodate an employee’s religious practice but that the employer doesn’t have to endure an “undue hardship” on its business. Abandoning patients and losing business sounds like an undue hardship for an employer, doesn’t it?
So what are the pharmacists so upset about? Well, the Washington rule also specifies that pharmacies and pharmacists can’t discriminate against patients, destroy or refuse to return prescriptions, violate patient privacy, or harass or intimidate customers. Surely these litigious pharmacists aren’t arguing that their religious beliefs require those kinds of actions?
We shall see… We’ll keep monitoring this case and will keep you informed as it moves forward.
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