US News on ACOG’s fight for Plan B. Someone’s got to put science back into the FDA:
Despite a doctor’s orders, a pharmacist can decide not to dispense the contraceptive based on moral or religious beliefs. Fine. But there must be an alternative pharmacist or pharmacy to fill the order, or else the conscientious objectors are imposing their beliefs on a woman who then becomes powerless to exercise her own.Imagine if a pharmacist could block the sale of condoms based on religious persuasion. It’s not so far-fetched; the Vatican historically has banned condoms, even opposing their distribution in Africa to protect against HIV. And would there not be an uproar if a pharmacist’s own sense of sin used a man’s marital status to determine whether or not to fill his prescription for Viagra? The debate over Plan B smacks of a double standard. But worse, without knowing beforehand of the pharmacist’s opposition to the drug, a woman requesting it is not only turned away but also humiliated as her privacy is breached and her personal life judged.
As we sort out these ethical issues, let’s follow ACOG’s lead. Those pharmacies unwilling to dispense the morning-after pill should be mandated to post some version of the “accidents happen” poster, with the caveat “but some other pharmacy will have to help you if you want Plan B.” And individual pharmacists who refuse to fill such prescriptions should wear buttons that say simply, “Don’t ask.”
