Reichert on Pharmacists Refusing to Fill Birth Control Prescriptions
Well I submitted all of them and they at least chose to ask him one of them. I'll take what I can get at this point!
Firstly let me set the stage for the question by presenting the original question, is it ok or not for a pharmacist to refuse to fill birth control prescriptions for religious or moral reasons, asked last week that my question is a follow-up to:
Not only was Reichert rude in his interruption (he has a habit of doing that), and clueless, having to ask for the question he'd already answered to be repeated, but his answer was devoid of an explanation.
So I asked:
A follow-up question to an answer at last week's debate: You indicated that pharmacists should be able to refuse to fill a prescription based on their personal religious beliefs. Your one-word answer screams for a more detailed explanation of your reasons. Please explain why a patient that is required to have a prescription filled at a pharmacy should be at the mercy of a pharmacist's personal issues, as opposed to the patient's doctor's orders?To which he responded:
Patients are able to visit a doctor or pharmacy of their choice. If a pharmacist chooses to not fill a prescription or a doctor declines to see a patient for a certain procedure, a patient may go elsewhere for service.What a wonderfully insular world Dave Reichert must live in that he would brush this issue off so cavalierly. From my standpoint I think everyone should reverse the tables on pharmacists, and before having them fill any prescription ask them the same question originally asked on Tuesday. If the pharmacist replies that they would refuse to fill the prescription then don't do business with them if you have another option (the problem is so many people don't have another option). A licensed pharmacist that refuses to fill a doctor's prescription has no business with me, and should have no business with anyone else that believes they have a legal obligation to fulfill.
Posted at 10/16/2006 09:23:00 PM PT
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4 Comment(s):
I'm not sure we should put the burden to ask on the customer. We ought to require pharmacists to post prominent signs that clearly tell customers whether or not they will refuse to fill prescriptions that offend them on moral grounds.
Dan
Nice effort on getting that follow up question in. Certain religions don't beleive in extending human life. Imagine if that was your pharmacist.
Pete M.
CoolAqua
Mickeleh - If people are always asking then perhaps they would end up doing that.
Darcy was brilliant in her response.
Between a woman and her doctor. Period.
Also, there are many reasons that birth control pills are prescribed. Birth control pills are prescribed for PCOD and for prevention of ovarian cysts and for debilitating menstruation - to name a few.
Any holier than thou pharmacists who will not provide medication for any reason ought not be allowed to be a pharmacist.
Should a pharmacist be allowed to not fill a prescription for Viagra because they do not believe that it is morally OK for a man to get an erection once 'god' has decided that the man can no longer get erections?
The reasoning is ridiculous.
Darcy's answer was spot on. It is not for the legislature, a politician or a pharmacist to decide.
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