Women being refused the pill

Ok firstly I wasn't too sure if this belonged in medical issues, religious issues or what. So it's here, feel free to move it if needed.


Onto the important stuff then. It seems that in ever increasing numbers many women are being refused the common contraceptive pill from both pharmacies and also doctors from issuing prescriptions.

In April, Julee Lacey, 33, a Fort Worth, TX, mother of two, went to her local CVS drugstore for a last-minute Pill refill. She had been getting her prescription filled there for a year, so she was astonished when the pharmacist told her, "I personally don't believe in birth control and therefore I'm not going to fill your prescription."

Now whilst I won't try to argue against pro-life belief systems. (its a free country and we're all entitled to our own opinions) It does seem that at this point the belief has become something oppressive. Ok so fine the pharmacist disagrees with the pill on the grounds that she views it as abortion, but does that give her a right to force that viewpoint upon another person??

I can see how this could easily throw up some very heated standpoints and arguments, so I'm going to try and lay it down in a nice cool manner.

Firstly for anyone unsure, the contraceptive pill essentially works by preventing a woman from releasing eggs to be fertalized, in the event one does get loose and fertalized. It terminates that embryo before any further development can take place. I realise now that someone is going to use this as an argument of how its not entierly accurate and whatnot. Rather than worry about that I invite it, it may help the whole situation. Pro-lifers believe that this termination conctitutes an abortion of an innocent human life, hense why they disagree with the pill.

Ok now that the technicalities are out of the way, it leaves one wondering where a line is drawn. On the one hand you could simply say that the pharmacist shouldn't be in that line of work if she is not able to provide the service required by a job discription. The problem lies, in that by refusing her that position on those grounds, are you then discriminating against someone for their beliefs??
I feel this is where the problem lies in this instance. to look at a disabled person in a wheelchair, it's easy enough to make clear cut definitions. There are obviously certain jobs that such a person would not be able to perfom, and as such it would be fair to refuse them if applied for. I'm not going to try and give examples, I'm not disabled so don't have a clue which, although anyone here that is I hope could back up that statement.

So where does the line lay with beliefs? in the case of the pharmacy I'd personally say she is in the right and has also every right to continue working there in that manner. You can always ask a different staff member of go to another store.

I feel the real problem lies with the medical proffession.

Melissa Kelley, 35, was just as stunned when her gynecologist told her she would not renew her prescription for birth control pills last fall.

"She told me she couldn't in good faith prescribe the Pill anymore," says Kelley, who lives with her husband and son in Allentown, PA. Then the gynecologist told Kelley she wouldn't be able to get a new prescription from her family doctor, either. "She said my primary care physician was the one who helped her make the decision."

In that case I feel the doctor is on the wrong. a doctor is there to provide medical assitance to anyone who is in need of it. Regardless of age, gender, ethnic culture or religious belifs. But does this apply when reversed?
What I mean is a doctor is obliged to see you no matter who you are or what they think of you. But when things infringe on their ground does it stand true still?

I believe not, otherwise doctors have suddenly gained the right to impose their views on how you should live your life onto their paitents. The pharmacy has every right to refuse something, It's essentially a retail store and can refuse custom to anyone for any reason.
But a doctor is a public service that shouldn't require you to be part of a "club" to recieve full medical treatment. Should a woman be in need of a morning after pill for a genuine reason, and they do exist unless no one has ever had a condom split?? Then she finds herself unable to do. Then she is left with the option of travalling to another doctor or even worse if none are avalible in a close enough range, having to go through the tramaur of a full blown abortion or an unwanted child.

So should a doctor be allowed to refuse such a thing? Personally I think not, unless it would endanger the health of the paitent of course. But then should a doctor be forced into something against their beliefs? Here I find myself at odds, partly I believe yes as they have taken an oath to provide a full medical service to all. Yet by doing so you are being as just as much of an oppressor as they are by forcing folk to live a certain way.

It's full of string views no doubt, but after seeing it I figured this was the best place to hear some of them.

Full article is here. www.prevention.com...


[edit on 15-9-2004 by feygan]

Wonder if these pharmacists prescribe Viagra?

Originally posted by taibunsuu
Wonder if these pharmacists prescribe Viagra?

Very good point which i hadn't considered. "we'll give a gun to shoot yourself with, but we can't do anything about the bullet"

Ok so it was abit of a cheap shot but It does illustrate some other issues with the matter.

If a Pharmacist will not fill certain perscriptions for religious or pro-life reasons, perhaps they should not be a pharmacist or in a position where their personal convictions interfere with others.

Viagra is just one of many drugs that they likely fill. Birth control pills are not *just* used for contraception. They can regulate cycles, reduce menstrual cramps, or be used to prevent periods entirely. Those pharmacies probably sell condoms freely.

Doctors who refuse to treat patients should make those limitations clear before a patient seeks treatment from them. A biased doctor can have serious consequences for a patient.

Same as a vegan working at Burger King. Some people just don't belong in some jobs. Personally, if I was in charge of the pharm. I would recommend to this person that they should find other employment.

There is a new movement by the right to lifers based on a study that women on birth control may abort/miscarry a fertilized ovum sometime during the years' they are on the drug.

What the right to life gang won't tell you - most women miscarry or abort a fetus/embryo/putyour own term here several times during their child bearing years and that it is irrelevant whether you are on birth control to begin with.

Another fact the right to lifers won't tell you - women on birth control occassionally get pregnant as my daughter is living proof.

This is simply another way to deny women their right to exercise control over their reproductive system. I personally am much more comfortable with a women taking every precaution to avoid an unwanted pregnancy rather than using abortion as birth control.

Any pharamicist who cannot acknowledge a woman's right to use birth control needs to find another line of work.



[edit on 9/15/04 by Bleys]

The pharmicist should keep him religious thoughts out of his work. It is her choice if she wants to use birth control. In ccd all theworksheets were saying that you are catholic and how you should oppose abortion. I think it is the womens choice to use abortion.

Can't the pharmacists be sued for this? Not in a money-grubbing way, but in a way that sends the message that if you're a pharmacist your personal views can't determine how you prescribe medicine.

Originally posted by taibunsuu
Can't the pharmacists be sued for this? Not in a money-grubbing way, but in a way that sends the message that if you're a pharmacist your personal views can't determine how you prescribe medicine.

I heard some stories about people promising to sue - haven't seen anything recently. But even more interesting is the suits being filed over pharmacists who have been fired for refusing to dispense birth control. And just to show you where this country is leaning these days guess what the State of Michigan is doing:

The state House has voted to protect health-care workers and insurers from being fired or sued for refusing to perform a procedure, fill a prescription or cover treatment for something they object to for moral, ethical or religious reasons.

Link

Targeting birth-control pills doesn't make sense. What about the thousands of drugs that cause birth defects? Most drugs are cointraindicated with pregnancy--if a pharmacist is truly acting to protect a fetus, shouldn't he or she not prescribe any drug that could potentially harm a fetus to a woman of child-bearing age unless she has written certification from her doctor that she isn't pregnant? To do otherwise would be hypocritical.

I agree that these people shouldn't be in positions where they affect public health if they have conflicting moral convictions that prevent them from doing their job. These hormones are not only used for birth-control--they are necessary to treat a variety of conditions. Denying a woman necessary medical treatment because of personal religious beliefs is unethical.

Here is the deal. Flat and simple. You are hired to do a spacific job. If you can not do that job then you should be fired.

This sort of thing usually only happens in the South...go figure. But to be fair, the actions of a few pharmacists shouldn't brand the whole region. This guy was just a judgemental moron who needs to find a new line of work.

There is nothing in the Bible that says planned parenthood is a sin against his god so he has no leg to stand on.

Sounds like those pharmacists and doctors are suffering from cases of over-inflate egos. Who died and made them gods?
I can understand being against abortion. I can understand the right to life groups, at least the ones who are not rabid.

But birth control? Sorry, not their business. How one chooses to take responsibilty for one sexuality is between the person, their partner, their pocketbook and their Creator. Not necessarily in that order.

Originally posted by Weller
There is nothing in the Bible that says planned parenthood is a sin against his god so he has no leg to stand on.

But, the Catholic Church is against birth control as well as abortion.
Catholic hospitals will not perform abourtions, tubal ligations or hysterectomies. And, in many ares of the country, Catholic hospitals are the only ones nearby.

Being lost in all this is customer service. If you aren't going to give it to me, I'm going elsewhere. This should be a concern for the owners.

Originally posted by DontTreadOnMe

Originally posted by Weller
There is nothing in the Bible that says planned parenthood is a sin against his god so he has no leg to stand on.

But, the Catholic Church is against birth control as well as abortion.
Catholic hospitals will not perform abourtions, tubal ligations or hysterectomies. And, in many ares of the country, Catholic hospitals are the only ones nearby.

Great, if someone recognizes and abides by the edicts of the Catholic church then they better snap to and follow their own made up rules. They can't use scripture to back up their decision in this matter.

And yes, its true that the Catholic church is the only option in many third world countries and that is a fact I find to be both good and bad. They do help in many cases where others won't, yet their own moral codes make many of the situations in those country's worse whether they choose to believe so or not. They continually think humans are going to magically adhere to some moral code when it comes to sex and the fact that they think they can some how change human nature is ridiculous.

I for one would love to see an aid organization step in and help out to minimize the influence of all religious institutions in the third world but that will never happen. They do it supposedly to help and aid the poor but underneath it all is a desire to convert people to their religion...so its help but with a price. They have destroyed many valid cultural traditions throughout the world by their practices and it saddens me greatly.

Social affect of annihilating an ingrained culture-religion and replacing it with another one decimates a society for generation after generation.

But health practicioners in this country using spiritual ethics to regulate their presecription of the pill, which acts as far more than birth control, is a sign that medical science is being influenced by its antithesis, superstition.

It's hard to say if this is widespread or more of an urban rumor. Advocacy groups often inflame small incidents to enforce their aims, and no advocacy group is beyond this. However if it happens it should be regulated, and that Michigan legislation is strong proof of a political current entering the medical field.

I've never heard of this before but I guess it can probably happen in some hick rural locations in the US. I'm sure if the customers would go over the pharmacist's heads and tell the store owners what happened then those pharmacists would be fired almost instantly. A pharmacists job is to fill doctor prescriptions for customers not to make personal or religious judgements. This type of activity could be medically harmful to a customer and set up all kinds of lawsuits. That story hits close to home. They quote a organization operating in Dayton OH. I live in Columbus OH and dayton is about an hour away. My wife, who is also a Nurse, takes the pill. But there are so many places to get a prescription filled, I can think of at least 15 in a 2 mile radius of my house, that if one dumbass pharmacist decides to deny the prescription move on and get it filled somewhere else - - - and then come back and file a complaint and call the local news.

"Hi, I'm here for my heart medication."

"I see you have your prescription. But, sorry, I'm a Christian Scientist. I can't give you medicine, it's all a placebo. Here's some literature on how prayer can restore your health through devout belief in Jesus' ability to heal through faith."

"Mmm, ok, gee, thank you."

Originally posted by taibunsuu
"Hi, I'm here for my heart medication."

"I see you have your prescription. But, sorry, I'm a Christian Scientist. I can't give you medicine, it's all a placebo. Here's some literature on how prayer can restore your health through devout belief in Jesus' ability to heal through faith."

"Mmm, ok, gee, thank you."

Very good use of another angle to make your point. I'm still wiping up the milk that sprayed out of my nose! Touche!