Poll: Should pharmacists have the right to not give the morning after pill if they morally object?

The State Journal Register ^ | October 15, 2007 | Dean Olsen

[TheEaglehasLanded]

The story is on top and the poll is on the bottom

[ken21]

come on,

you cannot have individuals deciding

by means of their religious beliefs, or ethnicity, or biases,

who to serve or not serve.

if you were on the downside of this, you’d be outraged.

[SpaceBar]

Your Daily Kos comment directed at me proves you are intellectually unable to debate on this forum.

[JohnnyZ]

if you were on the downside of this, you’d be outraged.

Being on the downside of this -- you mean one of the people being killed? Yes, I would be very outraged if people were forced out of their jobs for not helping to kill me.

[Bear_Slayer]

Thank you for that well-reasoned response.

[sarasmom]

No.
Does an individual pharmacist have any right to decide to dilute or alter the various patented chemical compounds of specified, prescription medicines, in order to increase profitability?

[ken21]

you’re nuts.

[JohnnyZ]

You are obviously on the wrong site.

This is a conservative web site.

Killing babies and destroying freedoms -----> anywhere but here --->>

[blaquebyrd]

"What do you do about someone who took the job BEFORE these drugs were put on the market?"

A state licensed doctor prescribed a federally approved medication to his patient. The pharmacist doesn't know why nor should he. Maybe the female has a medical condition that precludes her from carrying a fetus to term? It's not the pharmacists job to deny her medicine based on his personal beliefs. In the end it's his employer's decision. If the employee can't fulfill the duties he was hired to do, either find someone who can, hire additional staff to take up the slack, or live with a smaller customer base.

[JohnnyZ]

Ah, yeah, the government threatening people's careers if they don't conform to the culture of death.

It's nuts, all right.

But that's the world we live in, and the culture you support.

[org.whodat]

Should vegan grocery store checkout clerks be able to refuse to sell meat to customers because they find it morally objectionable? Of course not. Should the guy at the Wal*Mart sporting goods counter refuse to sell you a shotgun because they object to guns? Again, of course not. This is the same thing. If their sensibilities clash with their job, then they need to look for a new line of work. It’s that simple.

If you don't want to do what you are paid to do, find a new job. Problem solved! The golden rule, the man writing the check makes the rules.

[newzjunkey]

Shall Muslims be forced to sell pork products while employed at a grocery store? Shall Muslim cab drivers be forced to ferry passengers with liquour?

Should be up to the grocery store and cab company's policies. When you agree to take a job there are certain expectations. If they conflict with your values, don't take the job. In this case, I'd let the pharmacy do as it likes just as I believe courts were wrong to demand the Catholic Charities organization cover contraceptive costs under employee health care benefits.

[Witter]

Maybe a pharmacist input on this topic would be good to hear.

[Drew68]

Should vegan grocery store checkout clerks be able to refuse to sell meat to customers because they find it morally objectionable? Of course not. Should the guy at the Wal*Mart sporting goods counter refuse to sell you a shotgun because they object to guns? Again, of course not. This is the same thing. If their sensibilities clash with their job, then they need to look for a new line of work. It’s that simple.

Yep!!! When I go to get a prescription filled I expect the service to be performed. I'm not there to debate the morality of the drug I have been prescribed. Personally, I couldn't care less what views the pharmacist holds. Shut up and do your damn job or send me someone who will.

[Mariner]

This should be between them and their employer.

[70times7]

...do the job you were hired to do. These guys knew the job description called for filling legal prescriptions for FDA approved medicine when they accepted their positions.

Ahh yes. If the government says it is ok, then certainly it must be ok!
My government assigned me to drive a train
My government assigned me to be a barber for men and women and children
My government assigned me to load trains
My government assigned me to perform clerical work at the camp
My government assigned me to sort personal posessions
My government assigned me to obtain train passengers
My government assigned me to make wooden bars of soap
My government assigned me to stoke the furnace
My government assigned me to perform dental extractions
My government assigned me to dig large holes in the ground
My government assigned me to fill the holes, but not with dirt
My government assigned me to fill the furnaces, but not with wood
its just my job....

Oh pish tosh... Check w/ Mahmoud Ahmadinejad; it never really happened, right?

[Bear_Slayer]

I certainly welcome their opinion, but it has no more weight than any other’s opinion.

[Bear_Slayer]

What part of “get another job” don’t you understand?

[newzjunkey]

Just to ensure you're not confused, this isn't asking about RU-486, the aptly described "abortion pill," which terminates existing pregnancies.

Generally, "PlanB," the morning after pill prevents egg release, may prevent mating of egg and sperm or, perhaps--though I've see some debate--prevent a fertilized egg's implantation into the uterine wall.

Only the last of these, if truly effected by the morning after pill could be considered ending a life.

[Drew68]

Your examples are not relevant.

Actually, they are perfectly relevant. There are many vegans who find the slaughter of animals for food to be as morally repugnant as pro-lifers find abortion. That is their personal belief.

These guys are forced to sell something that they know will result in the death of a person, it’s the reason the drug exists in the first place - to kill. That’s forcing them into becoming participants of another person’s murder.

Not everyone believes abortion is murder. There are many reasonable people in this country (and a few long time FReepers) who do not equate abortion with cold-blooded murder. Furthermore, some people do not even equate the morning after pill with abortion. The pharmacy counter is not a place for debate. It is a place for people to receive medication that has been legally prescribed to them. If the pharmacist doesn't want to do this, he needs to find another job.

[blaquebyrd]

"Ahh yes. If the government says it is ok, then certainly it must be ok!"

Yep, that's pretty much the way it works in this country. We pride ourselves on being a "Nation of Laws". I believe it, fought for it, and spent the better part of 20 years in the military defending it. Now don't get me wrong, there are ways to change law, but not doing a job you accepted isn't the preferred way. If you don't agree with the law that made a particular drug legal challenge it in our courts. Don't accept employment to fill legally prescribed medication then deny Americans their legal right to have it.