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Friday May 2, 2008
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Washington Pharmacists May Refuse to Fill Plan Prescriptions B-For Now
By Michael Baggot
SEATTLE, WA, May 2, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A federal appeals court upheld Washington state pharmacists' right to refuse the "emergency contraceptive" Plan B on Thursday.
According to Board of Pharmacy regulations, state pharmacies must supply patients will all legally prescribed drugs in a timely manner, including the potentially abortifacient Plan B.
The Thursday ruling upheld U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton decision to delay enforcement of the Board of Pharmacy policy because it violated the pharmacists' first amendment right to the free expression of religion.
The case originated in July 2007, when pharmacists Rhonda Mesler and Margo Thelen, accompanied by the Stormans Inc. that owns Ralph's Thriftway in Olympia, filed a lawsuit criticizing the Board of Pharmacy policy for forcing them to choose "between their livelihoods and their deeply held religious and moral beliefs."
Oral arguments in the case are scheduled for June 3 in Seattle.
When the Board of Pharmacy was considering its policy in early 2006, Governor Christine Gregoire threatened to remove any board member supportive of measures that would have allowed for conscientious objection to certain prescriptions.
"No one should be denied appropriate prescription drugs based on the personal, religious, or moral objection of individual pharmacists," Gregoire insisted.
Critics of the Board of Pharmacy decision against a conscience clause argue that the current policy is unconstitutional.
"The debate is not about the Church imposing its views. Opposition to the rule by believers and non-believers alike is based on the right of conscience, a right affirmed in our federal and state constitutions," stated Seattle Archbishop Alexander J. Brunett in an April 2007 Seattle Times editorial.
As of an August 2006 Food and Drug Administration decision, Plan B is available over the counter, but still requires a prescription when used by women under 18.
Plan B is a set of two pills to be taken within 72-hours of sexual intercourse in order to prevent unwanted pregnancies. The manufacturer of Plan B, admits that the pills can kill an already conceived human embryo by robbing him of necessary nutrients and oxygen in his mother's uterine lining.
According to the official Plan B website, the drug may act "by preventing attachment (implantation) to the uterus (womb)" (http://www.go2planb.com/ForConsumers/TakingPlanB/faqs.aspx#A...).
See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Pharmacists Sue Washington State for Forcing Them to Sell Morning After Pill
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2007/jul/07072701.html
Plan B Manufacturer Admits Morning After Pill Can Cause Death of an Embryo
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/sep/06090701.html
To contact Stormans, Inc.:
1932 East 4th Ave.
Olympia, WA 98506
Phone: 360-754-2203
Email: kevin@stormans.com
To contact the Governor's office to respectfully voice concerns:
Governor Chris Gregoire
Office of the Governor
PO Box 40002
Olympia, WA 98504-0002
Phone: (360) 902-4111
Fax: (360) 753-4110
Email via "web form": http://www.governor.wa.gov/contact/
Read the ruling:
http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/newopinions.nsf/F1AD783C30A6...$file/0736039o.pdf?openelement
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