Revisiting the pharmacist/birth control script refusal debate (sort of)

[jennyl772003]

I haven't read this whole thread, but wanted to add my 2 cents.

I recently was prescribed a pill due to an incomplete miscarriage, in order to try to get it to complete on its own. This same pill commonly used as the second step for a chemical abortion. My Dr did not put on the script why I needed it. That is no ones business. If this pharmacist saw this script, he may have refused to fill it, thinking I was aborting.

This would have made a heart wrenching day for me only that much more difficult.

 

[Charade]

Well according to some people we do not have the right to have legally prescribed prescriptions filled, that is a privilege to which pharmacists are allowed to grant or not grant based upon their whims.

moral convictions = whim? Ok.

There hasn't been one person here that stated prescriptions should not be filled at all. Many have stated the prescription should be handed back to the customer so they can go elsewhere (or pass it to another pharmacist).

Do you honestly believe that all doctors should perform elective surgeries if they believe that it's unethical or immoral to do so?

Is there really a difference between unethical and immoral (for non religious reasons) reason?

Somewhere a long the way, morality has been specifically tied to being a fanatical religious nutjob.

 

[AllyandJack]

I haven't read this whole thread, but wanted to add my 2 cents.

I recently was prescribed a pill due to an incomplete miscarriage, in order to try to get it to complete on its own. This same pill commonly used as the second step for a chemical abortion. My Dr did not put on the script why I needed it. That is no ones business. If this pharmacist saw this script, he may have refused to fill it, thinking I was aborting.

This would have made a heart wrenching day for me only that much more difficult.

I am so sorry. My best friend recently suffered a miscarriage at 9 weeks. It would be a sad day if that script has to come with an explanation or an inquisition.

 

[chobie]

moral convictions = whim? Ok.

There hasn't been one person here that stated prescriptions should not be filled at all. Many have stated the prescription should be handed back to the customer so they can go elsewhere (or pass it to another pharmacist).

Do you honestly believe that all doctors should perform elective surgeries if they believe that it's unethical or immoral to do so?

Is there really a difference between unethical and immoral (for non religious reasons) reason?

Somewhere a long the way, morality has been specifically tied to being a fanatical religious nutjob.

Some of us think it is immoral for a pharmacist to judge why a medication was prescribed and refuse to fill it without knowing the details of the particular patient it is prescribed for.

 

[Charade]

Well then you should have just stated that opinion on the thread that statement was posted on.

I'm not allowed to post there.

 

[chobie]

I'm not allowed to post there.

 

[KristiKelly]

Like was just stated about the abortion pill used due to an incomplete miscarriage. There are also people who take birth control not necessarily to keep from becoming pregnant but due to other female problems. I had a friend that was put on birth control when she was 14 or 15 because her periods were so bad and painful. She had to leave school to change clothes several times because she would bleed through a tampon and pad just sitting through one class (sorry TMI I'm sure for some of you men). Anyway, she was not sexually active but needed her cycle controlled. Should a pharmacist tell her that she can't have them? I don't think so.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

I haven't read this whole thread, but wanted to add my 2 cents.

I recently was prescribed a pill due to an incomplete miscarriage, in order to try to get it to complete on its own. This same pill commonly used as the second step for a chemical abortion. My Dr did not put on the script why I needed it. That is no ones business. If this pharmacist saw this script, he may have refused to fill it, thinking I was aborting.

This would have made a heart wrenching day for me only that much more difficult.

Jenny, I'm sorry for your loss.

 

[Bill_Sykes]

we have 3 kids, no birth control, married 10 years. Won't have more. I am living my life quite nicely. It is about self-control...& our love life is fantastic. I am not opposed to birth control, but don't act like it is a) a right, & b) impossible to live a "normal" life without it.

It is a constitutional right. GRISWOLD v. CONNECTICUT, 381 U.S. 479 (1965)

The present case, then, concerns a relationship lying within the zone of privacy created by several fundamental constitutional guarantees. And it concerns a law which, in forbidding the use of contraceptives rather than regulating their manufacture or sale, seeks to achieve its goals by means having a maximum destructive impact upon that relationship. Such a law cannot stand in light of the familiar principle, so often applied by this Court, that a "governmental purpose to control or prevent activities constitutionally subject to state regulation may not be achieved by means which sweep unnecessarily broadly and thereby invade the area of protected freedoms." NAACP v. Alabama, 377 U.S. 288, 307 . Would we allow the police to search the sacred precincts of marital bedrooms for telltale signs of the use of contraceptives? The [381 U.S. 479, 486] very idea is repulsive to the notions of privacy surrounding the marriage relationship.

This is well established law.

 

[toto2]

Here in canada , stories like this find their way in the section of the paper where they talk about the stranges customs of the world ! We have a good chuckle !

But then again , we are the country of same-sex-marriage , decreminalised pot , drinking age :18, and bars closes at 3 am...
PS:we are not better , just different ! But we dont have all those issues that tear us appart like in the USA. Here liberal doen't equal devil.

So it would never come to mind to a pharmacist to refuse to fill up a prescription for " moral" reasons

 

[chadfromdallas]

PS:we are not better , just different !

I disagree

 

[Charade]

You can't compare a Dr refusing to do a procedure with a pharmacist refusing to fill a prescription. If a Dr refuses to do an abortion then they will refer them to someone else. They're not saying "sorry you can't have this done by anybody". The pharmacist in the OP held on to the prescription and refused to let the patient have it back so she could get it filled elsewhere!

Holding on to the prescription was indeed wrong.

 

[toto2]

I disagree

When was the last time you visited ? We are very welcoming

 

[ncgolfer]

Like was just stated about the abortion pill used due to an incomplete miscarriage. There are also people who take birth control not necessarily to keep from becoming pregnant but due to other female problems. I had a friend that was put on birth control when she was 14 or 15 because her periods were so bad and painful. She had to leave school to change clothes several times because she would bleed through a tampon and pad just sitting through one class (sorry TMI I'm sure for some of you men). Anyway, she was not sexually active but needed her cycle controlled. Should a pharmacist tell her that she can't have them? I don't think so.

I think the pharmacist can tell her he won't fill them and should if he feels its morally wrong. I think that he should expect some serious reprecussions for his actions though if that is what he chooses to do it.

I admire the pharmacist for standing up for having the kahunas to stand up for what he believes, even though I disagree with him in this instance!

 

[chadfromdallas]

When was the last time you visited ? We are very welcoming

It has been years

I think I may do Canada this summer as a cheaper vacation

 

[chobie]

It is a constitutional right. GRISWOLD v. CONNECTICUT, 381 U.S. 479 (1965) This is well established law.

Thanks for looking this up.

 

[toto2]

It has been years

I think I may do Canada this summer as a cheaper vacation

Bienvenue ! I hope you make it to montreal !

PS:We speak french here !

 

[totalia]

I don't think the pharmacist should have the right to refuse. He is there to fill a prescription, not to make moral judgements. He is not a Dr. What next? People being able to refuse an AIDS patient their meds based on the fact of how they MIGHT have gotten it?

 

[ncgolfer]

sorry - double post

 

[ncgolfer]

I don't think the pharmacist should have the right to refuse. He is there to fill a prescription, not to make moral judgements.

I don't see how anyone has the right to go into someone elses business and say you will fill my prescription. If a particular store won't fill it then take it to someplace who will.

The pharmacist was way over the line if he refused to return the prescription. Its verging on theft if you ask me.