What are my Options in my community?

In many communities, filling a prescription over the pharmacy counter is no longer a simple task…. Too many people of all ages, races, and socioeconomic classes are being denied access to legal prescription drugs by pharmacists who choose to impose their personal religious beliefs and/or judgements onto others. Denying or delaying dispensation of a medication prescribed by a health care provider is discrimination. While diverse religious practices should be accommodated in the workplace, there must be safeguards so that no single religious practice infringes upon the rights of others, especially the rights of those trying to recieve much needed health care.

  

What Are My Options?

Effective advocacy even just for yourself begins with asking the right questions. How can you create change if you don’t first know exactly what is wrong with the status quo? Asking the right questions arms you with the knowledge you need to make a difference in your community. Use this website and it’s resources to determine if pharmacists are refusing to fill prescriptions in your community.

Who Can I Contact?

Before taking action, it is important to know who in your community is reponsible for the laws and regulations that govern your local pharmacies and prescriptions, as well as who enforces those laws and policies. You also need to know who the dominant politicians and law makers are that have spoken on this topics and what their position might be on the subject. Finally, you need to know who else might represent consumers of prescription drugs in your area, so that you may better identify potential allies. Below are a few examples of those with an interest in the pharmacy refusal issue.

• State pharmacy boards
• Patient or consumer advocacy groups
• Health professional associations
• Retail pharmacies association
• Women’s groups
• State legislators
• Civil rights and civil liberties groups
• State/local health departments

Doing the research on your local laws and regulations about this topic is essential to knowing your rights when at the pharmacy. The state you reside in will most likely have some law that you can find when visiting your state pharmacy board and its website. To locate your state pharmacy board you can visit www.NABP.net this link will send you to the National Boards of Pharmacy website so that you may locate your states pharmacy board.

Only if we work together can we truly create change.

What if this happened to You? Publication: Conscience Publication Date: 22-SEP-10

Article Excerpt IN JANUARY 2009, A MOTHER of six walked into a Walgreen’s pharmacy in Milwaukee, Wis., to get a prescription filled for emergency contraception (EC). The condom she and her partner were using had burst and she wanted to take precautions against pregnancy. However, when she handed the prescription over to the pharmacist, not only did the pharmacist refuse to fill it, but publicly humiliated her in the presence of other customers, calling her a “murderer” and “baby killer.” When the woman spoke to the pharmacy manager she was informed that it was company policy to let the pharmacist decide whether or not to fill a prescription. Too traumatized by the whole incident to try filling it elsewhere, the customer left the store, and according to a report in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, later had an abortion. This scenario is becoming more common as part of a concerted assault on safe and legal reproductive health care services, seeking to enshrine the right to refuse a prescription into laws nationwide.Standard refusal clauses are nothing new. Statutory barriers to women accessing legal reproductive health services proliferated across the country after the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. First, Congress enacted the Church Amendment in 1973, which stated that the receipt of federal funds does not require health care providers to make abortion and sterilization services available. Since then, 46 states have passed laws modeling that legislation which allows certain medical professionals and entities to opt out of performing certain legal medical procedures, mostly, abortion.The latest twist in the bat-tie over the provision of reproductive health services, commonly called “pharmacy refusals,” has spawned legislative battles across the country. Often spurred on or heavily supported by either the US Conference of Catholic Bishops or local bishops’ conferences, refusal dames have also received support from the Catholic Health Association (CHA). The CHA is the trade association of the Catholic health industry and, among other roles, represents the interests of Catholic health care providers on Capitol Hill and in local legislatures. It claims to be “the largest not-for-profit provider of health care services in the nation” and, according to its 2005-2006 advocacy agenda, the preservation of what it terms “conscience” clauses is deemed a priority.THE BULLY PULPITIn Illinois, Chicago Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Paprocki vehemently opposed an emergency rule filed by Democratic Governor Rod Blagojevich on April 1 requiring pharmacies “that stock and dispense contraceptives to fill birth control prescriptions without delay.” The order mandates that out-of-stock contraceptives must be ordered according to standard procedures and protects patients by requiring that, if unfilled, a prescription must be transferred to another local pharmacy or returned to the patient if the patient so desires. Since the governor’s emergency rule will expire after 150 days, he filed for a permanent rule on April 18, 2005. The order provoked Bishop Paprocki to single out the governor during a mass at St. Hyacinth’s Basilica in April. “Mr. Governor, out of respect for Pope John Paul II, please respect his wishes … rescind your order. Let our pharmacists be free to follow their faith,” he said. (Washington Times, April 4, 2005) Governor Blagojevich has not backed down, but three challenges have since been filed against the order. Bishop Paprocki may have overplayed his hand. Using his pulpit to intervene in a political issue is not likely to earn him support from Catholics and further, Catholics overwhelmingly support family planning, including access to EC. A recent poll showed that 75 percent of US Catholics believe that the church should allow the use of contraception. (Baltimore Sun, April 10, 2005) Even the Ethical and Religious Directives governing Catholic health care facilities allow the provision of EC to women who have been raped. (USCCB, 4th Edition, 2001) Catholics in the US, like those in other countries, object to the pulpit being used to espouse political views. During the last election cycle, a full 70 percent of US Catholics did not believe the views of Catholic bishops were important in deciding for whom to vote. (Belden Russonello & Stewart poll for Catholics for a Free Choice, “The View from Mainstream America: The Catholic Voter in Summer 2004,” July 2004) AN UNFAIR FIGHT? Public opinion on the issue of pharmacy refusals is solidly on the side of full access to prescribed pharmaceuticals. When Americans were asked whether or not pharmacists who personally oppose birth control for religious reasons should be able to refuse to fill an order for birth control, a full 80 percent say no. Only 16 percent believed that pharmacists should be able to refuse service. Even 74 percent of “prolifers” opposed giving pharmacists this power. (Lake Snell Perry Mermin/Decision Research poll for NARAL Pro-Choice America, June 6, 2005) Despite this overwhelming public support, laws governing pharmacists vary considerably from state to state. According to the National Women’s Law Center, legislators in 28 states have filed bills that would allow pharmacists to refuse to fill prescriptions based on their personal beliefs. In just the first half of 2005, refusal clause bills were introduced in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, West Virginia and Wisconsin. However, legislation has also been introduced in five states (California, Missouri, New Jersey, Nevada and West Virginia) to protect the rights of patients seeking legal, essential health care services. In Arizona, Governor Janet Napolitano (D) vetoed a bill (HB 2541) that would have allowed pharmacists to refuse to fill a prescription for emergency contraception. Not surprisingly, this veto brought swift condemnation from the Arizona Catholic Conference: “With the veto of HB 2541, health care providers’ inalienable civil rights are apparently ……..