Because of personal convictions, some pharmacists are refusing tofill certain contraception prescriptions for women and, right on cue,there's movement in Congress to overreact to the situation withmisguided legislation.
The issue is already taken on unfortunate partisan overtones, withsome Democrats wanting federal legislation that mirrors a newdirective in the state of Illinois that requires pharmacies to fillcontraceptive prescriptions, especially the controversial "morning-after" pill viewed by some critics as a form of abortion.
National Public Radio aired a timely piece Tuesday on its "MorningEdition" program in which it was noted that the first congressionalhearing on a so-called "pharmacists' duty to fill law" was held inthe "unlikely venue" of the House Small Business Committee. Evencommittee members questioned why.
Whether a small pharmacy in any state chooses to fill prescriptionfor birth control is not an issue for the small business panel todecide, ranking New York Democratic member Nydia Velazquez told NPR.She said it's clearly a women's rights issue revolving around awoman's right to access health care and lead her life as she pleases.
Illinois Republican Donald A. Manzullo, the committee's chairman,countered that no health care provider should be required to violatehis or her conscience by being forced to participate in a procedurethat he or she finds objectionable or "have to choose betweenbusiness and beliefs."
Thus the battle lines are being drawn early on an issue thatshouldn't be before Congress in the first place. While the religiousor moral convictions of pharmacists can be intensely personal things,this is an issue that can ultimately be decided in the market place.
For example, let's say that a pharmacist works for a chain storeoperation. In that case the policy on whether or not to fill morning-after prescriptions would most likely be a corporate decision. If apharmacist wanted to risk his or her job by violating company policy,that's up to the individual.
As for independent pharmacists, it's essentially a businessdecision on their part. Do they want to alienate customers and affectbusiness by forcing their beliefs on others?
In April, Illinois became the first state to require pharmaciststo dispense female contraceptives when Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich issuedan emergency rule. The order is about to become permanent, which isspurring copycat efforts on Capitol Hill.
There are some who feel that convenience should not trumpconviction and if a woman has to search out a pharmacist who iswilling to fill the prescription, it is not an undue burden. Theproblem would be if no pharmacists could be found, in rural areas forexample, but even then there are alternatives such as mail orInternet orders.
Legislation that seeks to either ban or mandate must be approachedwith great caution, and the congressional efforts to forcepharmacists into filling the prescriptions overreaches to the pointof being a solution in search of a problem.
Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are MichaelShepard, Sarah Jenkins and Bill Lee.
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