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If she becomes pregnant as a result of that refusal, and chooses to abort the pregnancy, a pharmacist has, in effect, forced the customer to undergo a surgical abortion. A procedure that would have been unnecessary had the pharmacist simply done his or her job and filled the prescription to begin with. Of course, not everyone is happy about Gov. Blagojevich’s new emergency rule. Religious conservatives, who have strongly supported the "right" of Pharmacists For Life members to refuse dispensing prescriptions for birth control pills and other contraceptives, are a bit upset, to put it mildly, that the efforts of pharmacists to deny women birth control have been sharply reined in, at least in Illinois. Several prominent Christian groups and leaders have loudly complained that any legislation that thwarts the actions of pro-life pharmacists is tantamount to deliberate persecution. In a statement issued on April 1, Americans United For Life, a conservative pro-life organization, has charged that Gov. Blagojevich’s emergency rule has stripped pharmacies in Illinois of their "right" to object to participate in the distribution of specific drugs and devices related to stopping pregnancies. Nikolas T. Nikas, General Council of the group, said that "the move is coercive and forces Illinois pharmacies to be active participants in activities where they have moral or religious objections." Of course, this group isn’t the only one upset about the new rule. "This is yet another case where the religious rights of Christians are being threatened today," said Rev. Mark H. Creech, one of the leading representatives of the ultra-conservative American Family Association. "It’s just another example of how liberal activists fight to see everyone’s rights are protected – unless, of course, those individuals happen to be followers of Christ." What Rev. Creech is forgetting – or more likely, ignoring – is the fact that the United States is a country where religious beliefs do not trump the legal rights of female citizens who only wish to obtain the contraception that their doctor prescribed for them. Considering that Rev. Creech has made it clear in the past that he is as strongly opposed to contraception as he is to abortion, one can’t help taking any statements he makes in this matter with a healthy amount of skepticism. Despite the posturing and hand-wringing from the pro-life side of the debate, pharmacists who object to contraception do have other options. If they don’t like being ordered to do the jobs they were hired to do, which is filling legal prescriptions written by doctors, they can seek employment at establishments that don’t sell contraceptives. These establishments would include privately-funded, religiously-affiliated hospitals and pharmacies where contraceptives aren’t being offered. Or they can decide to find another line of work, where their religious views won’t intrude on the rights of others who don’t share their beliefs. Naturally, there will probably be some pharmacists who refuse to consider such a simple course of action. The reasoning behind any resistance is obvious; in a different working environment, they would no longer be active participants in the anti-contraception movement and get encouraging pats on the back from their religious leaders. However, their personal dissatisfaction isn’t our problem, since they never had the constitutional right to deny women access to birth control in the first place. AUTHOR: Susan Levine  TAGS: Opinion world america war Family Love government living work BOOKMARK: Digg it | Add to Del.ICIO | Add to FARK ACTIONS: Comment Save Print Register free acount  |
