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Dallas Observer column (Morning After Pill incident)

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by mrpaige, Jan 28, 2004.

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  1. mrpaige

    mrpaige Member

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    From the Dallas Observer:

    http://www.dallasobserver.com/issues/2004-01-29/buzz.html/1/index.html

    What a Pill
    A Denton pharmacy's moralizing leaves Buzz feeling queasy
    BY PATRICK WILLIAMS
    patrick.williams@dallasobserver.com

    A while ago, Buzz came across a T-shirt stenciled with the words "Jesus loves you. Everybody else thinks you're an *******." We didn't buy it, but now we wish we had, because then we could wrap it up and send it off to the fine, morally upstanding pharmacists at the Eckerd drugstore on University Drive in Denton. They've earned it.

    Here's how: Last week pharmacists at the store refused to fill a woman's prescription for "morning-after pills," a form of birth control that can be taken up to 72 hours after intercourse to prevent pregnancy. Essentially a high dose of hormones found in regular birth-control pills, one of the drug's potential means of working is to prevent a newly fertilized egg from implanting itself in the womb. Hard-core abortion opponents--who apparently include the Eckerd's pharmacists among their ranks--call that "chemical abortion."

    The woman in this case, by the way, had been raped. A doctor at her rape exam wrote the prescription. The pharmacists knew this; they had been told so by a male friend of the woman (Buzz's tipster), who had ferried her to a number of drugstores in Denton looking for one that had the pills in stock. The Eckerd had it, but because of their own moral objections, pharmacists there refused to fill a lawful prescription for an innocent woman in dire need.

    The woman's friend, who asked not to be identified, said a woman behind the counter first told him the prescription could be filled in two minutes. Time was pressing, and he had explained the need to her. About 20 minutes later, a pharmacist--not a woman--summoned him to a window. "This medication is designed to end life, and I cannot abide by that. There are three of us here, and we all agree on the issue," the pharmacist said, according to the friend, who at that point began yelling loudly.

    Lovely. Score one for the Religious Right and book that fine trio a suite in the bosom of Abraham. Buzz figures that anyone who could ignore basic human decency and professional and medical ethics to further victimize an already traumatized woman in the name of moral certitude must be bound for glory. Or something.

    The sooner the better.

    We suppose they could have really gotten right with God if they had gone to the car where the woman sat weeping while her friend sought the pill, slapped her and called her Jezebel. What was she thinking, going out and getting herself raped and putting those fine pill peddlers in the awkward position of having to dispense an FDA-approved medicine? Hussy.

    Now, if you are a rational person, you may be thinking that Buzz has been taken in by some sort of left wing-inspired urban legend or hoax. Sounds loopy, right? Afraid not. We called the pharmacy in Denton, but the person who answered the phone referred all questions to the company's corporate offices. Joan Gallagher, vice president of corporate communications for Eckerd, confirmed that the company was reviewing the situation, but could not discuss specifics. "Our pharmacists are obligated to comply with our policies and procedures," she said. "We do not support the pharmacists' refusal to fill a prescription based on any religious, political or moral convictions, and any pharmacists who would refuse to comply with that policy would be subject to disciplinary action."

    Gay Dodson, executive director of the Texas State Board of Pharmacy in Austin, says pharmacists can refuse to fill prescriptions for medical reasons--for instance, if a patient is given orders for two incompatible drugs. But "there's no conscience clause in Texas law that would allow a pharmacist to refuse under moral grounds," she says.

    Yet Dodson also said that this is the first case like this she's heard of. It's likely that if the board were called upon to act, it would simply advise the pharmacist of the law.

    As for the woman in question, she finally got her pill from a Walgreens pharmacy across the street, her friend said. That's W-A-L-G-R-E-E-N-S...a fine place to shop for all your pharmaceutical needs in Denton, if you get our drift.
     
    #1 mrpaige, Jan 28, 2004
  2. Rocketman95

    Rocketman95 Hangout Boy

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    Ridiculous.
     
    #2 Rocketman95, Jan 28, 2004
  3. JuanValdez

    JuanValdez Member

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    If the FDA says it is alright, then how could it be wrong?
     
    #3 JuanValdez, Jan 28, 2004
  4. Oski2005

    Oski2005 Member

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    Man, I am pissed. Who the hell do they think they are? If they are gonna object to handing out pills for moral reasons, they need to find a new line of work. How is she ending a life? Fertilization can take hourse, if she was raped that same day, she probably wasn't even pregnent. I got that from an anti-abortion site too, which needs to do some fact checking because in one section, there's the mock "questiong then we answer" type thing going on where they ask "isn't it a single cell" and they answer "yes, but a remarkable one that IS either a male or female..." Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't all developing mammals start off as females, then either stay that course or become males?
     
    #4 Oski2005, Jan 28, 2004
  5. DaDakota

    DaDakota Balance wins
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    What a crock of crap......imposing their beliefs on someone else is not their place.

    WALGREENS huh?

    DD
     
    #5 DaDakota, Jan 28, 2004
  6. tierre_brown

    tierre_brown Member

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    Aren't you supposed to fulfill your duties as a professional first, person second in any case? Moral qualms or not, the woman had a damn prescription written out by her doctor. If this was just a woman panicking because she didn't want to get pregnant, then there might be more room for debate. But this woman had her doctor explain the case in the prescription...damn, I don't even know what to say.

    I am against abortion, except in cases of rape or danger to the mother's life. This sickens me to no end...
     
    #6 tierre_brown, Jan 28, 2004
  7. Rocketman95

    Rocketman95 Hangout Boy

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    May I ask why?
     
    #7 Rocketman95, Jan 28, 2004
  8. KingCheetah

    KingCheetah Atomic Playboy
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    Poor women first she is raped then some a$$hole makes her feel like a baby killer. I'm sure there are about 100 lawyers ready to help her even the score though...

    Can you imagine going in there with a close friend or your sister and they pulled that - nasty situation.
     
    #8 KingCheetah, Jan 28, 2004
  9. outlaw

    outlaw Member

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    well it sounds like from the story that she sat in the car while her male friend was the one trying to get the prescription filled. so at least she didn't have to go through that ordeal in person.
     
    #9 outlaw, Jan 28, 2004
  10. nyquil82

    nyquil82 Member

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    reminds me of a similar story but regarding parents.

    my girlfriend's mom, who is a nurse, had a 16 yr old female patient who was dying but would survive 100% if she had a blood transfusion. Her parents and church, who were Jehovah's Witnesses, believed that blood transfusions were sinful so told the hospital not to do it. guess what happened?
     
    #10 nyquil82, Jan 28, 2004
  11. basso

    basso Member
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    if they didn't want to fill prescriptions for the drug, why are they even stocking it? they're not required to.
     
    #11 basso, Jan 28, 2004
  12. wouldabeen23

    wouldabeen23 Member

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    Good Ole' Denton!! I am a Mean Green Eagle alum--this story is, sadly, no that surprising in North Texas. We are talking about the Belt Buckle of the Bible Belt; more churches per square mile than any other are in the country! (DFW). The Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of Ft. Worth flat out REFUSES to ordain women priest's--and this is the Episcopal church that has openly gay priest's already!--course, not in NORTH Texas...



    I MUST have one of the "Jesus Loves you, but everyone else thinks you are an *******"....My Uncle is a Episcopal Priest--a straight one with a wife and kids-- and he would LOVE that shirt.
     
    #12 wouldabeen23, Jan 28, 2004
  13. mrpaige

    mrpaige Member

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    The pharmacist on duty may not be in charge of what drugs the store does or doesn't carry. That may well be a decision made at the corporate level, or even by a different pharmacist at that store.
     
    #13 mrpaige, Jan 28, 2004
  14. outlaw

    outlaw Member

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    or maybe they're stocking/hording it to prevent other pharmacies from giving it out
     
    #14 outlaw, Jan 28, 2004
  15. Refman

    Refman Member

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    That pharmacist has a license. He has a duty to those whom he serves. That duty does NOT extend to denying the drug to her because he objects to it. If he objected to it SO much, why did they stock it in the first place?

    Bottom line: He should have his license suspended at the very least.

    I am against abortion (and no RM, you cannot ask why...we have gone over it time and again on this BBS). But in no uncertain terms...this is NOT abortion. If it were, the pharmacist has an ethical duty to comply with Texas law in dispensing drugs...this one being no different. He failed at that task.
     
    #15 Refman, Jan 28, 2004
  16. TraJ

    TraJ Member

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    What were these people supposed to do if that's what their conscience demanded? I wouldn't have violated my conscience in a situation like this either.

    If a doctor can refuse to do an abortion, even if he or she has all the equipment and the know-how, why can't a pharmacist refuse to administer pills that cause an abortion?

    I feel sorry for the girl who has been raped. This is one area where I can't help but feel sympathetic toward a woman who wants an abortion. Nontheless, it would have still been a moral dilemma for me if I was one of the pharmacists. It would have been a tough decision.

    It might have been the woman's choice to take the pill, but does the fact that she made that choice mean that a pharmacist--any pharmacist--has to be a party to it? I don't see this as them imposing their beliefs on someone else. She could, and did, get the pill somewhere else. It seems to me that it would have been imposing the beliefs of other people on the pharmacists if they had been forced to fill the prescription against their will and against their conscience. As usual, it's only wrong for one group to impose their beliefs on others.

    There are a lot of things I couldn't participate in, although I wouldn't stop another person from doing them. I don't believe I'm imposing my beliefs on someone else when I refuse to participate. No one has the right to demand that of me. As far as I'm concerned, I don't need the state's permission to follow my conscience.
     
    #16 TraJ, Jan 28, 2004
  17. Deckard

    Deckard Blade Runner
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    A very simple answer. Resign and find another profession.
     
    #17 Deckard, Jan 28, 2004
  18. mrpaige

    mrpaige Member

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    Actually, it's more like a doctor taking a job at a hospital that performs abortions and that says each doctor must perform whatever procedures the hospital offers and then turning away a person who comes in for an abortion.

    Eckerd's, the owner of said pharmacy and employer of this person, has chosen to carry this medication and offer it up for sale to those who hold a prescription. This person decided the policies of his company are bad enough to disobey, but not bad enough to stop collecting a paycheck from the company.

    If it's okay to do this sort of thing, then I'm going to go get a job at McDonalds and stand around all day telling overweight people they're too fat to eat at a place like McDonalds and refuse to sell them food. If I believe people are obese, I shouldn't be required to be a party to making them fatter, even if I work at a McDonalds. And it shouldn't be any big deal, there's other restaurants they can go eat at.
     
    #18 mrpaige, Jan 28, 2004
  19. Oski2005

    Oski2005 Member

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    You are awesome mrpaige.
     
    #19 Oski2005, Jan 28, 2004
  20. TraJ

    TraJ Member

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    I have no problem with Eckerd firing these people. If you can't live by the rules of the company, go somewhere else. What I suspect, however, is that this is a peculiar situation at a peculiar time. This drug hasn't been legal that long. I don't know for sure, but I wouldn't be surprised if these people worked at Eckerd before the pharmacy started offering this particular drug. So I wonder if they walked into this situation with eyes wide open or not. If they did, my attitude toward it would be different. This is not a situation these people would have had to deal with in the not-too-distant past, which makes it a little different from the McDonald's analogy in my opinion.

    There's no other drug quite like this one. If I were a pharmacist, the approval of this drug would have changed my view of my profession in a significant way. Perhaps these pharmacists had given no thought to that fact, although they should have. But again, if I found myself in the same position, I'm not sure I wouldn't have done the same thing, fully understanding that they might ask me for my white coat and name tag.

    All I'm saying is that I wouldn't have violated my conscience in this situation either. Should they have seen this coming and looked for other employment? Probably. Does that mean they should have gone ahead and done it anyway? I don't think so--at least not if it violated their conscience to do so. Should they portray themselves as victims when they get fired (which I'm sure they will)? Nope. If you're willing to take a stand for something you believe in, you need to be willing to pay the price as well.
     
    #20 TraJ, Jan 29, 2004
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