Quote:
Originally Posted by RPicart
Stuff like that is occurring all over the United Kingdom as well. The following article comes from the METRO publication here in the UK, a free newspaper that is circulated via the public transit system. It is from the Friday, May 23, 2008 edition.
"Mother of two, 36, is denied Pill
A couple were refused the morning-after pill by a Muslim pharmacist because of his religious belief. Kaye Walsh and Chris Mellett wanted the emergency contraceptive after their usual method failed. Ms Walsh, who works in recruitment and has a son, 17, and a daughter, five, said of the incident at Sainsbury's in Denton, Manchester: 'I was absolutely flabbergasted. I'm a 36-year-old woman, not a child. Surely the pharmacist has a duty of care?' But a Sainsbury's spokesman said the chemist was within his rights to refuse to give out the pill on religious grounds."
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This has happened multiple times in the US, only with the pharmacist being an evangelical Christian instead of Muslim. It is such a common occurrence in the US, and is so well supported by many Christians, that many states have adopted "defense of faith" laws that actually prohibit employers (CVS, Target, Wal Mart, Walgreens, you name it) from taking any action against pharmacists who refuse to dispense prescriptions for the birth control pill, plan B, etc.
Mississippi, Arkansas, and South Dakota are three such states, and the last time I checked at least 10 other states had such legislation pending.
In addition, many pharmacists are not only refusing to fill the script, but are refusing to release the script back to the individual to be filled at another location.
The New England Journal of Medicine recently cited a case where a Texas pharmacist refused to give the morning after pill to a rape victim.
So we don't have to worry about the Muslim boogeyman on this one..... we are already dealing with the born again kind.
Before I get jumped on this one, I fully support the right of people to believe whatever they choose. However, I also believe that an employer should have the right to terminate or relieve an emplyee who chooses not to perform their full duties based upon religious grounds. If you don't want to dispense the birth control pill, that's fine, but open your own pharmacy.... don't go to work for a chain pharmacy and then cry religious persecution.
I am waiting for the day when a scientologist refuses to fill psychiatric meds and seeks protection under the defense of faith laws.... the precedent has already been set.