Bill would let pharmacists refuse service

[question]

Bill would let pharmacists refuse service

By Mitch Mitchell

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

The first of possibly several bills seeking to let Texas pharmacists "just say no" to filling prescriptions for emergency contraceptives has been filed before the legislative session that begins in January.

Groups opposing the bill, as well as the bill's author, said its language will probably change during the legislative process to accommodate concerns people have.

In its current form, the bill would allow pharmacists to refuse to dispense some birth-control pills. The definition in the bill of emergency contraceptives, commonly called the morning-after pill, also fits some nonemergency contraceptives, or birth-control pills.

That would not sit well with members of the Texas Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League, an organization spokeswoman said. "This bill would cause women to have to roll the dice every time they went to have a prescription filled," spokeswoman Sarah Wheat said.

The new legislation was filed to allow pharmacists the same protections other Texas health care professionals enjoy, said its author, state Rep. Frank Corte Jr., R-San Antonio.

Pharmacists are worried that they may face repercussions if they choose to follow their conscience and refuse to serve a customer on moral or ethical grounds, Corte said. But if the bill is passed, it should not stand between a woman and her health care needs, he said.

"Our intent is to affect the prescriptions that terminate pregnancies, that's what most of the pharmacists are concerned about," he said. "We have pharmacists who have received ultimatums from their employers."

In January, pharmacists at an Eckerd Drug Store in Denton denied a morning-after pill to a rape victim. Three pharmacists were fired as a result of that incident. In March, a CVS pharmacist in North Richland Hills refused to fill Julee Lacey's prescription for birth control pills.

The pharmacist told Lacey that she did not believe in any form of birth control and advised her to go to a nearby Walgreens for assistance, said Lacey, of Fort Worth. Lacey remembers being frustrated about the incident.

"I entrust my care to my physician, not my pharmacist," Lacey said. "We have to consider what could happen if this should go any further. There are some people who don't believe in transplants. I just want to know where they are going to draw the line."

The morning-after pill is a higher dose of regular hormonal contraception that works to prevent pregnancy if taken within 72 hours after intercourse.

When the bill's language is refined, it should only refer to the morning-after pill, said state Rep. Charles Hopson, D-Jacksonville. Hopson, who is also a pharmacist, said the bill needs to clearly state that patients will be presented with an alternative if a pharmacist refuses to serve them.

"Some of the big chain stores are comfortable with the concept, but they would like to know which pharmacists will fill all prescriptions and which ones will not," Hopson said. "They also want to make sure that there is some alternative for the patient."

This bill, and similar legislation passed or recently proposed in about a dozen other states, discriminates against women, said Rachel Laser, senior counsel with the National Women's Law Center in Washington, D.C.

"If you go into a profession to assist the medical needs of people, you are not in a position to single out women just because you believe a prescription is something other than what the FDA [Food and Drug Administration] says it is," Laser said. "Women find the experience of being denied a prescription humiliating and demoralizing."

Texas Pharmacy Association policy calls for pharmacists to discuss concerns about dispensing prescriptions with their employers before refusing service to a patient, said Jim Martin, the association's executive director.

Pharmacists should make arrangements to ensure customers can get their prescription filled, even though one pharmacist may object to filling a prescription for a specific drug, Martin said. The association has not formulated a position on this legislation, Martin said.

But, "Our position is that a pharmacist has a right to fill or not fill a prescription," Martin said.

The Texas Alliance for Life supports the legislation, said Joe Pojman, executive director.

"My basic concern remains that the pharmacist ought to be able to conscientiously object to participate in something that is the potential taking of human life," he said. "I'm very concerned that women get the proper health care, but I'm also concerned with the health care providers."

[taken from: FW Star Telegram]

If they try to pass legislation on wire hangers then I'm REALLY going to be pissed.

[question]

I love how we're justifying someone's moral stance to supercede someone's medical need or medical choices. It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.

Originally Posted by question

I love how we're justifying someone's moral stance to supercede someone's medical need or medical choices. It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.

Yes, it makes my anus tickle with joy as well.

Originally Posted by question

I love how we're justifying someone's moral stance to supercede someone's medical need or medical choices. It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.

a pill is a product - one cannot be compelled to sell it

[matt]

it doesn't matter. there are 3 pharmacies on every corner these days...someone will fill it.

[question]

But it's their job to dispense medicine. Period. Not make judgement calls. They are educated to dispense drugs and knowledge about sed drugs. If they have moral objections to filling prescriptions given by doctors, then they should choose another field to work in. This isn't rocket science. If you don't agree with the practices in medicine because of your beliefs, you shouldn't be involved in medicine.

If I refused to delegate someone's zone because I didn't agree with the content of the site or the name of the domain, I would be fired. My job is to handle DNS, no matter how vulgar the domain may be. It's their job to dispense the drugs the patient has a prescription for, that was given to them by a doctor. Their job is to not deny people based on their beliefs. Their job is to dispense medicine prescribed by a qualified professional, and offer the patient information about what they're being given.

Doctors can't refuse to treat patients no matter what the grounds, but pharmacists can be allowed to deny people what a doctor has prescribed to them because they don't believe in it?

That's ridiculous.

Originally Posted by xiannaix

a pill is a product - one cannot be compelled to sell it

[question]

But what about the people in small towns that only have one pharmacy? What are those people supposed to do when they can't get their birth control filled?

Originally Posted by matt

it doesn't matter. there are 3 pharmacies on every corner these days...someone will fill it.

Originally Posted by matt

it doesn't matter. there are 3 pharmacies on every corner these days...someone will fill it.

and more....


many Rx insurance benefits require mailorder prescription fills - those places don't refuse service based on anything other than ability to pay your bill (well fake scripts too...)

[question]

Well it looks like this will put the pharmacies that refuse to fill perscriptions out of business because no one will want to run the risk of being denied on moral grounds.

Viva la Internet!

Originally Posted by xiannaix

and more....


many Rx insurance benefits require mailorder prescription fills - those places don't refuse service based on anything other than ability to pay your bill (well fake scripts too...)

Originally Posted by question

But what about the people in small towns that only have one pharmacy? What are those people supposed to do when they can't get their birth control filled?

mail order....

and - - what about those people who live in a town w/out a pharmacy? w/out a doctor?

[matt]

Originally Posted by question

But what about the people in small towns that only have one pharmacy? What are those people supposed to do when they can't get their birth control filled?

they should use a mail order service, especially if it is a recurring prescription. that gives them more options anyways, and the ease of going out to the mailbox instead of taking the farm to market and going to the local piggly wiggly outweighs everyting!

Originally Posted by question

Well it looks like this will put the pharmacies that refuse to fill perscriptions out of business because no one will want to run the risk of being denied on moral grounds.

Viva la Internet!

yes, it is, from a business standpoint, absolutely foolish to refuse to fill a script - that's their freakin' business.

[question]

And the people that can't wait on mail order?

Originally Posted by xiannaix

mail order....

and - - what about those people who live in a town w/out a pharmacy? w/out a doctor?

[question]

It seems to me that this is a pretty "liberal" law. I mean, they're allowing people to not do their job, based on the way they "feel" about something.

Originally Posted by xiannaix

yes, it is, from a business standpoint, absolutely foolish to refuse to fill a script - that's their freakin' business.