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Court: Family-Run Pharmacy Must Carry Plan B Despite Religious Objections
Catholic News Agency ^ | 7/24/15 | Matt Hadro

Posted on 07/25/2015 5:54:25 AM PDT by marshmallow

Washington D.C., Jul 24, 2015 / 04:47 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Owners of a pharmacy in Washington state must provide the morning-after contraceptive pill against their religious beliefs after a federal appeals court upheld a state mandate that they do so.

“Today’s decision is unfortunate,” stated Luke Goodrich, deputy general counsel of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, on Thursday. “The government has no business punishing citizens solely because of their religious beliefs.”

At issue is a 2005 state law that mandates pharmacies provide the morning-after and week-after contraceptive pills to customers even if they religiously object to doing so. Individual employees may recuse themselves from filling such prescriptions if they have a religious objection, but another employee must be present to fill the prescription.

Pharmacies cannot simply refuse to fill the prescriptions while referring customers to other pharmacies that can do so, as the plaintiffs, owners of Ralph’s Thriftway store, had reportedly done in the past.

The Storman family owns the pharmacy and religiously objects to providing the morning-after and week-after pills, believing that they can induce early abortions.

Goodrich argued that the state regulations are unmatched in the burden they lay upon businesses. No state other than Washington makes such a requirement of pharmacies, he said.

The Stormans initially won at the federal district court level in 2012 after a 12-day trial featuring around 800 exhibits and testimonies from persons responsible for drafting and enforcing the law.

The district court found that the law violated the First Amendment’s protection of the free exercise of religion and discriminated against religiously-owned and operated businesses by carving out certain other protections for pharmacies that were not explicitly religious.

For instance, pharmacies did not have to obey the mandate if a patient could not pay for the prescription or if they filled out.....

(Excerpt) Read more at catholicnewsagency.com ...


TOPICS: Current Events; General Discusssion; Moral Issues; Religion & Politics
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These stories will become increasingly frequent over the coming months and years. The courts will be no help in this battle since the highest court in the land has now embraced lawlessness.
1 posted on 07/25/2015 5:54:25 AM PDT by marshmallow
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To: marshmallow
Christian Science Reading Rooms must carry Hustler?

Health food stores must provide Hostess Twinkies?

Ned Flanders' Leftorium must sell right-handed scissors?

2 posted on 07/25/2015 6:02:25 AM PDT by Rodamala
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To: marshmallow

Nothing exposes a bad law like it’s enforcement.


3 posted on 07/25/2015 6:02:27 AM PDT by fella ("As it was before Noah so shall it be again,")
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To: marshmallow

Form a separate line for...

BABY KILLING DRUGS
THIS LINE ONLY


4 posted on 07/25/2015 6:02:44 AM PDT by G Larry (Obama Hates America, Israel, Capitalism, Freedom, and Christianity.)
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To: Rodamala

It seems that to the left, the First Amendment is all about protecting porn (all sorts of porn, even depicting children) and also specifically about protecting the “privacy” of Islamic terrorists when they conspire. Yeah, it is only a matter of time before they try to force Christian book publishers to print porn magazines and Islamic jihad literature.


5 posted on 07/25/2015 6:12:58 AM PDT by Wilhelm Tell (True or False? This is not a tag line.)
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To: Wilhelm Tell

What I said isn’t too far fetched. Within 10 years there will be official book burnings at libraries and schools, all in the name of “tolerance.”


6 posted on 07/25/2015 6:16:58 AM PDT by Wilhelm Tell (True or False? This is not a tag line.)
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To: G Larry

And have the one person in the facility that will dispense those drugs wear an executioner’s outfit and witch costume.

The Ninth Circus is a cancer on this nation. Hopefully they will be overturned once again.

Why did Planned Parenthood have standing to be plaintiffs in this case? What financial harm has already been done to them - above and beyond the financial harm that anybody else has suffered - because of the actions of this pharmacy?


7 posted on 07/25/2015 6:19:46 AM PDT by butterdezillion (.)
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To: marshmallow

“These stories will become increasingly frequent over the coming months and years. The courts will be no help in this battle since the highest court in the land has now embraced lawlessness. “

This is what happens when you don’t fight back. Sorry, I have no sympathy here. My love of god is more powerful than the governments fiats that violate my civil rights. If I lay down and take it, they will gladly give it to me.


8 posted on 07/25/2015 6:28:55 AM PDT by EQAndyBuzz (Change the Defense of Marriage Act to the Defense of Holy Matrimony Act. Game, set match.)
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To: Wilhelm Tell

Within 10? We’ve already got grave desecration and proposals to blast monuments.


9 posted on 07/25/2015 6:30:48 AM PDT by Crazieman (Article V or National Divorce. The only solutions now.)
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To: marshmallow

An alternative is to tell anyone wanting those “drugs” that they don’t have any in stock... not a lie.

Personally, years ago, multiple pharmacies were visited to find a drug in stock to stop pre-term labor - on Thanksgiving weekend. Several close-by pharmacies were simply out.


10 posted on 07/25/2015 6:32:29 AM PDT by RebelTXRose (Our Lady of Fatima, Pray for us! PRAY THE ROSARY!)
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To: Crazieman

You are right. Within five years. During the first administration of Jeb or Hillary.


11 posted on 07/25/2015 6:36:11 AM PDT by Wilhelm Tell (True or False? This is not a tag line.)
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To: marshmallow

So they carry one package and it costs $250


12 posted on 07/25/2015 6:40:49 AM PDT by silverleaf (Age takes a toll: Please have exact change)
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To: Rodamala

Muslim owned groceries must carry pork


13 posted on 07/25/2015 6:41:39 AM PDT by silverleaf (Age takes a toll: Please have exact change)
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To: butterdezillion

If I recall correctly, PP is a major shareholder of the firm that markets Plan B in the US.


14 posted on 07/25/2015 6:45:28 AM PDT by oblomov
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To: marshmallow

So the law says the MUST carry the drug?

Really? Every pharmacy must carry each and every drug???

Thats absurd.


15 posted on 07/25/2015 6:46:10 AM PDT by Adder (No, Mr. Franklin, we could NOT keep it.)
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To: marshmallow

It’s kinda funny how so many people are ok with government not only telling retailers what they CAN’T sell (e.g. porn), but being able to tell them what they HAVE TO sell. They just use the veil of “licensed” to utterly control your business.

Our nation is so fascist.


16 posted on 07/25/2015 6:47:25 AM PDT by cuban leaf (The US will not survive the obama presidency. The world may not either.)
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To: marshmallow

Absolutely NOT.


17 posted on 07/25/2015 6:47:41 AM PDT by Caipirabob (Communists... Socialists... Democrats...Traitors... Who can tell the difference?)
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To: marshmallow

Since Christians can obviously not win in a fight against these tyrants, at least in the short or mid term, their best bet is to evade them with strategy.

This amounts to forming “faith based” organizations with exclusive contracts with churches that reject homosexualism.

If people want wedding services, they have to go through one of these particular churches. If they want prescription drugs, they have to go through one of these particular churches.

Legally, it means that Christian based businesses can no longer offer services “to the public”, but only through exclusive contracts with these churches. However, the more businesses that join these faith based cooperatives, in contracts with these churches, the better it will be for the businesses involved.


18 posted on 07/25/2015 6:56:35 AM PDT by yefragetuwrabrumuy ("Don't compare me to the almighty, compare me to the alternative." -Obama, 09-24-11)
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To: marshmallow

“I’m sorry, its on backorder, should be about 76 weeks for delivery”

repeat as needed.


19 posted on 07/25/2015 7:10:35 AM PDT by headstamp 2
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To: marshmallow

ON SALE! Only $ 99,999.99

Only one per customer.

20 posted on 07/25/2015 8:11:00 AM PDT by Petrosius
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