9th Court Forces Christians into Abortion Business

This week's ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, overturning the 2012 ruling of U.S. District Court Judge Ronald B. Leighton, reinstates a 2007 Washington state requirement forcing all Christian pharmacists to sell the morning-after pill (Plan B), thus violating their religious liberty.

“The government has no business punishing citizens solely because of their religious beliefs.  The pharmacists in this case willingly refer patients to over 30 pharmacies that stock the morning-after pill within a 5 mile radius, and no patient has ever been denied timely access to any drug.”
-- Luke Goodrich, deputy general counsel of the Beckett Fund for Religious Liberty

For background, read how Judge Leighton ruled the regulations to be anti-Christian.

Click headlines below to read previous articles:

Illinois Pro-life Pharmacists Win Against Plan B

Unlimited Plan B Abortion Pill in Stores for Kids

'Invisible' Abortions Soar Among Teens — Plan B

Over-the-Counter Abortion Paid by ObamaCare: Study

UPDATE 8/22/15: Persecuted Christians Testify at Iowa Rally Hosted by Sen. Ted Cruz

-- From "Pharmacy owners cannot cite religion to deny medicine - U.S. appeals court" by Dan Levine, Reuters 7/23/15

The state of Washington can require a pharmacy to deliver medicine even if the pharmacy's owner has a religious objection, a federal appeals court ruled on Thursday, the latest in a series of judgements on whether religious believers can opt out of providing services.

The U.S. Supreme Court last year allowed closely held corporations to seek exemptions from the Obamacare health law's contraception requirement.

A unanimous three-judge 9th Circuit panel on Thursday decided that the rules are constitutional because they rationally further the state's interest in patient safety. Speed is particularly important considering the time-sensitive nature of emergency contraception, the court said.

"The time taken to travel to another pharmacy, especially in rural areas where pharmacies are sparse, may reduce the efficacy of those drugs," wrote Judge Susan Graber.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Ruling: Washington can require pharmacies to dispense Plan B" by Gene Johnson, The Associated Press 7/24/15

A Ralph’s Thriftway pharmacy in Olympia and two pharmacists sued, saying the rules required them to violate their religious beliefs, because the drugs can prevent implantation of a fertilized egg, which they consider tantamount to abortion. They argued that they should be allowed to refer patients to a nearby drug store rather than fulfill the prescription themselves.

But the appeals judges — Susan P. Graber, Richard R. Clifton Mary H. Murguia — said that wasn’t good enough.

In his initial ruling, Leighton said the rules infringed on the pharmacists’ religious freedom and issued an order blocking them, but in 2009 the appeals court reversed that decision. After holding an 11-day trial, Leighton in 2012 basically reaffirmed his original reasoning.

But the appeals court found that the rules were neutral, rather than targeted at suppressing the religious objections of the pharmacists.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "WA Pharms Must Stock Morning-After Pill" by June Williams, Courthouse News Service 7/24/15

Stormans Inc., owners of Ralph's Thriftway in Olympia, and two individual pharmacists sued the state in 2007 over new Board of Pharmacy regulations that require pharmacies to stock and dispense the emergency contraceptive Plan B.

U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton initially barred enforcement of the new stocking rules, but the Ninth Circuit overturned the injunction in 2009 after finding that the lower court had abused its discretion and "incorrectly applied a heightened level of scrutiny to a neutral law of general applicability."

Although the injunction was lifted, Washington state put off enforcing new rules pending trial. Leighton concluded after a 2012 bench trial that the stocking and dispensing laws were unconstitutional.

[This week, the Ninth Circuit] panel rejected the pharmacists' argument that they should be allowed to refer patients to other drug stores because of their religious objections to dispensing emergency contraceptives.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Washington Pharmacists Must Stock Plan B Despite Religious Beliefs" by Ruby de Luna, KUOW-FM94.9 (Seattle, WA) 7/24/15

“We’re disappointed with the ruling,” says Kristen Waggoner senior legal counsel of Alliance Defending Freedom, the group representing the pharmacy owner and two pharmacists. Waggoner says the ruling has broader implications; it would affect the state’s health care system.

“One third of the state’s hospital beds are affiliated with religious entities and in this case, the Catholic hospitals have said they will not sell these drugs in their outpatient pharmacies,” Waggoner says.

“We have to take a look at if the state truly intends to enforce these regulations in an evenhanded manner, it will have significant implications to healthcare throughout the state.”

Those three pharmacists will not have to comply with the federal appeals court decision, because that ruling doesn’t end the matter. Waggoner says she and her clients are considering their options for appeal.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Appeals court rules pharmacists must make Plan B, other contraceptives available in Washington" by Jim Camden, The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, WA) 7/24/15

Washington pharmacists who have religious objections to abortion or birth control can be sanctioned by the state if they send customers to another store for emergency contraception, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday. . . . A pharmacist with a religious objection to the drug can refuse to fill a prescription only if another pharmacist at the store is available who will, the state had said.

The owners of Ralph’s Thriftway, a supermarket and pharmacy in Olympia which sued the state over the regulation, plan to appeal. Kevin Stormans, president of Stormans Inc., said in a news release that the state allows pharmacies to make referrals for other reasons and 33 stores stock the drug within 5 miles of the store.

“All we are asking is to be able to live out the beliefs that we hold, as Americans have always been able to do, and to be able to refer patients for religious reasons, as the medical and pharmaceutical associations overwhelmingly recommend,” he said.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Court Says Washington State Pharmacy Must Provide Emergency Contraceptives Despite Religious Objection" by Michael Gryboski, Christian Post Reporter 7/24/15

In 2007, the Washington Pharmacy Quality Assurance Commission unanimously adopted two administrative rules, the "Pharmacist Responsibility Rule" and the "Delivery Rule."

The "Responsibility Rule" stated that a pharmacy could not refuse to provide "lawful prescriptions", but did provide a religious exemption for pharmacies and pharmacists.

By contrast the "Delivery Rule" lacks any exemption for religious or moral objections to providing "lawful prescriptions," like emergency contraceptives.

In February 2012 Leighton ruled in favor of Ralph's and the two pharmacists, arguing that the Commission's rules were "in practice unconstitutional."

"The Board of Pharmacy's 2007 rules are not neutral, and they are not generally applicable. They were designed instead to force religious objectors to dispense Plan B, and they sought to do so despite the fact that refusals to deliver for all sorts of secular reasons were permitted," wrote Leighton.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "No Pharmacy Owner Can Refuse Morning-After Pill in Washington, Court Rules" by Anugrah Kumar, Christian Post Contributor 7/25/15

[. . . The 9th Circuit] court held that the state law is "neutral" and "generally applicable" and therefore citizens must obey it irrespective of their religious beliefs.

The court said this week that Stormans failed to establish their belief that the contraceptive pills can induce abortions, and that their religious freedom is a "fundamental right" in this case.

"On balance, however, we are unconvinced that the right to own, operate, or work at a licensed professional business free from regulations requiring the business to engage in activities that one sincerely believes leads to the taking of human life is 'so rooted in the traditions and conscience of our people as to be ranked as fundamental,'" the court said, referring to Snyder v. Massachusetts.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read Federal Judge Blocks ObamaCare Assault on Christians

And read California Forces Catholics to Fund Abortion Insurance

Unlimited Plan B Abortion Pill in Stores for Kids

For the cost of half a tank of gasoline, anyone can now purchase a potent drug (which is very harmful when directions are not followed specifically) for the explicit purpose, according to the product label, of flushing a fertilized egg -- a human being -- from its mother's womb.  The pill, quickly becoming the "contraceptive" of choice for doctors, sexual predators, and hedonists alike, is displayed on store shelves along side typical contraceptives.

For background, read how pediatricians are pushing the Plan B onto teens, and read the statistics of its increased usage.

Also read Schools Secretly Give 14-year-olds Plan B Pill as well as Abortifacients Given to Kids via Vending Machine for $25

In addition, read how Feminists are Enabling Men to Push The Pill on Girls

-- From "Plan B One-Step Now For Sale: What You Should Know" by Alexandra Sifferlin, Time Magazine 8/1/13

Since the early 2000s, women’s reproductive health groups have been pushing to get Plan B over-the-counter . . .

In 2011, the Food and Drug Administration granted its approval for making the birth control, which comes in one- and two-dose forms, available over-the-counter, but that decision was overruled by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, who expressed concerns that girls as young as 11 would be able to purchase the product without a prescription. HHS placed an age restriction on the emergency contraceptive, requiring anyone under age 17 to have a prescription while allowing older women over-the-counter access.

However, this spring, U.S. District Judge Edward Korman in Brooklyn overturned the decision, saying it was made in “bad faith and improper political influence.” In response . . . the Department of Justice dropped an initial plan to appeal, making it possible for Plan B One-Step to be sold in pharmacies, without a prescription and without any age restrictions.

. . . The pill is designed to prevent pregnancy by keeping a woman’s ovary from releasing eggs for a longer period of time, by impeding fertilization or even by preventing a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus. [In other words, aborting a fertilized egg.]

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "'Morning after' pill goes on sale Thursday in pharmacies and grocery stores, available to anyone" by Lisa M. Krieger, San Jose Mercury News 7/31/13

At Walmart, "it is currently in the process of being shipped to stores, and will begin arriving in stores, to the family planning section, next week," said Walmart spokeswoman Danit Marquardt.

Nationwide chains such as Walgreens, CVS and Safeway all said they were moving the product Wednesday night to the health, feminine hygiene or family planning aisles of their stores. It is already available at Rite Aid.

"We are incredibly excited about this development," said Lupe Rodriguez of Planned Parenthood-Mar Monte, based in San Jose. "Access alongside other medications, like Tylenol, will make it incredibly more available to women."

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Major Drugstore Chains Now Selling Abortion-Inducing 'Plan B' Off the Shelf" by Penny Starr, CNSNews.com 8/1/13

. . . However, the Food and Drug Administrations also says it does not have any authority to require retailers to carry specific products, including Plan B. Thus, stores remain free to sell or not sell the abortion-inducing drug.

Spokespersons for CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens told CNSNews.com . . . that they would be selling the drug on shelves in their stores for anyone to access. . . .

“Over-the-counter access to emergency contraceptive products has the potential to further decrease the rate of unintended pregnancies in the United States,” said Dr. Janet Woodcock, director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read Abstinence Education Yields Lowest Teen Birth Rate Ever as well as Abstinent Teens the Norm, Moral Sex-Ed Works: Study

IL Pro-life Pharmacists Win Against Plan B

Illinois Circuit Judge John Belz ruled that the state law forcing pharmacists to dispense the "morning-after" pill violates their right of conscience and the First Amendment. The attorney general plans to appeal the decision, thus extending the nearly-six year battle.

For background, read Illinois Pharmacists Winning Legal Battle over 'Morning-after' Pill

UPDATE 12/11/12: Illinois attorney general will NOT appeal ruling

-- From "Wheaton pharmacist wins 'morning-after' case" by The Associated Press 4/6/11

Pharmacists Glenn Kosirog of Wheaton and Luke VanderBleek and the three drug stores they operate sued over the 2005 rule imposed by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich. A circuit court originally dismissed the claim, but the state Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that a court must hear it.

Francis Manion, senior counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice and the plaintiffs' attorney, called the decision "a major victory for the rights of conscience."

"Plan B" emergency contraception contains a high dose of birth control pills and can be used to prevent pregnancy if taken within three days of unprotected sex by blocking ovulation or fertilization. Critics of the contraceptive say it is the equivalent of an abortion pill because it can prevent a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Judge says pharmacists can refuse to dispense 'morning-after' pills" by Dean Olsen, The State Journal-Register 4/5/11

“We’re thrilled,” Mark Rienzi, a Catholic University law professor and one of the pharmacy owners’ lawyers, said after the ruling. “The law of Illinois and the law of the United States make it clear that people can enter the health-care profession without having to check their conscience or religion at the door.”

The pharmacy owners, both of whom are pharmacists, oppose emergency contraception on religious grounds.

Even though lawyers for the state argued otherwise, Belz ruled that pharmacies and pharmacists are protected by the Illinois Healthcare Right of Conscience Act, as well as the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, when they refuse to perform services on moral grounds.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Illinois Pharmacists Win Key Victory on Morning After Pill" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com 4/5/11

“Today’s decision is a major victory for the rights of conscience,” Manion told LifeNews. “After six long years of litigation, our clients have finally prevailed against a state government determined to coerce them and all pro-life pharmacists into violating their deeply held religious beliefs or give up their livelihoods. Judge Belz’s decision makes clear that both Illinois state law and the First Amendment will not permit this. This country was founded by people with a strong commitment to religious freedom. That’s why freedom of religion is the first freedom protected in the Bill of Rights. For government at any level to try to run roughshod over that freedom is to abdicate the government’s primary responsibility.”

In his ruling, Judge Belz noted that “The government asserts that this Rule serves a compelling interest in timely access to drugs. Yet the government concedes that it had never done anything to advance its asserted interest prior to April 2010. Even as to emergency contraception, the Court heard no evidence of a single person who ever was unable to obtain emergency contraception because of a religious objection.”

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Click headlines below to read previous articles:

'Morning-after' Pill Gone at Pharmacists Choosing in WA

US Court Rules Pharmacists Must Have Rights of Conscience Respected

No Freedom of Conscience for Pharmacists Says Bill Passed by New Jersey Legislature

Pharmicists' Freedom of Conscience Threatened at the Federal Level

Appeals Court Rules Against Pharmacist Seeking Religious Rights Protection

NARAL Bullies Kroger over Abortion Drug

Obama Weakens Christians' 'Conscience Clause'

The Obama administration Friday deeply cut a rule protecting U.S. health workers refusing to provide care they find objectionable for personal or religious reasons.

The U.S. Health and Human Services Department wiped out nearly all of the so-called conscience rule put into effect in the waning days of President George W. Bush's administration.

For background, read Obama's Health Care Plans Include Religious Discrimination



-- From "Conscience rule drastically narrowed" posted at UPI 2/18/11

The [Bush] rule has been interpreted as allowing workers to refuse to perform a number of medical services, including providing the emergency contraceptive pill, treating homosexuals and prescribing contraception to single women.

The new regulation, which goes into effect in 30 days, leaves in place long-standing federal protections for workers who object to performing abortions or sterilizations and retains the Bush rule's process for workers to file complaints.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Bush Health-Care Measure Reversed" by Janet Adamy, Wall Street Journal 2/18/11

The Obama administration on Friday peeled back a rule defining when health-care workers can refuse to administer treatments they find morally objectionable, reversing a final act of George W. Bush's administration.

The Bush measure said that a wide variety of health-care workers could object to participating in abortions if they had moral objections to the procedure. Hospitals and clinics faced a loss of federal funds if they failed to uphold what the Bush administration termed workers' "right of conscience."

Liberal groups opposed the rule, saying it could open the door to a broader denial of services. They said it could allow insurance companies to deny claims for birth-control pills or enable hospitals to refuse emergency contraception to victims of rape.

While there was little evidence that such denials were happening with any frequency, the Obama administration said it needed to act to prevent ambiguity. It said decades of law already protect workers from participating in abortions if they don't wish to.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Obama Admin Weakens Protections for Pro-Life Medical Workers" by Steven Ertelt, LifeNews.com 2/18/11

Obama officials put a new rule in place that leaves in place protections on abortion but offers no protection for medical workers who have moral or religious objections to dispensing or giving to women the Plan B drug or other emergency contraception that could act in some cases as an abortion drug.

“The administration has made changes in a vital civil rights regulation without evidence or justification,” [Dr. J. Scott Ries, speaking for the 16,000-member Christian Medical Association] told LifeNews.com. “The administration presented no evidence of any problems in healthcare access, prescriptions or procedures that have occurred in the two years since the original regulation’s enactment that would justify any change in this protective regulation.”

“The Obama administration’s regulatory action today diminishes the civil rights that protect conscientious physicians and other healthcare professionals against discrimination. Any weakening of protections against discrimination against life-affirming healthcare professionals ultimately threatens to severely worsen patient access to health care,” the pro-life doctor said.

National survey results show that over nine of ten faith-based physicians, who are among the most likely to be serving the poor and those in medically underserved areas, indicate they would rather leave the profession if denied the ability to practice medicine according to conscientiously held ethical standards. Survey results also indicate that 20% of faith-based medical students say they are “not pursuing a career in Obstetrics or Gynecology” because of perceived discrimination and coercion in that field.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Enabling Men to Push The Pill on Girls

It's ironic that feminists want to make it easier for men wanting sex to force medications on young girls by making birth control pills and abortifacients available without a prescription.

-- From "Catania bill seeks to provide birth-control pills over the-counter" by Tim Craig, Washington Post Staff Writer 2/15/11

A [Washington] D.C. Council member introduced a bill Tuesday aimed at allowing women to bypass the doctor's office and get birth-control pills directly from a pharmacist.

Council member David A. Catania (I-At Large), who introduced the bill . . . has the support of Planned Parenthood, which long has argued that birth control should be more readily available to women. The bill is viewed skeptically by doctors and could push the city into conflicts with antiabortion groups and Food and Drug Administration regulations.

Catania's legislation does not set age restrictions on who would be able to obtain birth control from a pharmacist . . .

In 2006, the FDA approved the sale of Plan B, the so-called morning-after pill, over the counter to women who are age 18 or older.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Morning after pill faces test over access" by Susan Heavey, Reuters 2/11/11

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd earlier this week said it had asked the FDA for permission to sell [its Plan B morning-after pill] without any age limits, the latest salvo in a decade-long battle over the pill. Only those 17 and older can buy it now without a doctor's order.

Medical and women's groups have sought wider access for Plan B, which Teva acquired in 2008, since 2001. But the effort stalled under President George W. Bush and sparked multiple legal actions and congressional protests that the agency was letting politics trump science.

The FDA allowed limited "behind the counter" sales for women 18 and older in 2006 that required controversial identification checks. It later lowered the limit to age 17.

Planned Parenthood, the Reproductive Health Technologies Project and other supporters said this week they were thrilled Teva was seeking wider access.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Morning after pill linked to STD rise" from the UPI 2/1/11

The morning after pill may not have reduced teen pregnancies in Britain but it may be linked to a rise in sexually-transmitted diseases, researchers say.

Professors David Paton and Sourafel Girma of The University of Nottingham used local health data to study the effects of the availability of emergency birth control at pharmacies on conception rates and the diagnosis of STIs in teens age 18 and under.

On average, areas operating a pharmacy emergency birth control program had an overall increase of 5 percent in the rate of STIs among teenagers -- 12 percent in those age 16 and under -- while the program was associated with a small increase in the number of teens pregnant, the study says.

Since 2000, local authorities in England have been encouraged to offer emergency birth control free of charge, over-the-counter at pharmacies, to teenagers age 16 and under.

The findings are published in the Journal of Health Economics.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

'Morning-after' Pill Gone at Pharmacists Choosing in WA

Pharmacists in the State of Washington may soon be free to choose the medications they want to provide in their pharmacies – and those they don’t – after a lawsuit prompted the state’s pharmacy board to reevaluate the current regulations.

-- From "Washington pharmacy board making Plan B rules" by Jordan Schrader, The Olympian 7/14/10

Pharmacists who object to selling Plan B emergency contraception suddenly have the upper hand in their legal fight with the state.

In a reversal, the state Board of Pharmacy now wants to let pharmacies refuse to dispense that or any other drug, as long as they refer patients to a pharmacy that sells it.

It's essentially what pharmacies suing the state over moral objections wanted all along, said Kevin Stormans, co-owner of Ralph's Thriftway in Olympia, where druggists don't stock Plan B. "That's what we've done for as long as I can remember," he said.

A trial was set to begin July 26, but a judge postponed it indefinitely Monday at the request of lawyers for both sides, who cited the board's June decision to begin a new rulemaking process.

The deal surprised women's-rights advocates who had watched the pharmacy board pass a rule in 2007 at the urging of Gov. Chris Gregoire that barred pharmacies from refusing to sell a legal drug out of a moral or religious objection. The rule never took effect, awaiting the outcome of the lawsuit.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Washington State to Allow Pharmacies A Choice in Stocking ‘Morning-After Pill’" by Nick Dean, CNSNews.com 7/27/10

The ["morning-after pill"], Levonorgestrel, is promoted as an “emergency contraceptive” for use after sexual intercourse. It is controversial because, in some cases, it works as an abortifacient by preventing the implantation in the uterus of a fertilized egg. Concerns also have been raised about health risks to women.

The regulation requiring pharmacists to stock Plan B prompted two pharmacists and a pharmacy to bring a lawsuit against the state.

Proceedings in Stormans v. Selecky were suspended this month after the two sides agreed to stay the case while the state pharmacy board considers changing its current regulations.

The motion to stay the trial was agreed upon to allow the state’s pharmacy board to begin the process of amending the rules, especially the one in question, Sally Boyer, executive director of the Washington State Board of Pharmacy and Clinical Facilities, told CNSNews.com.

Eric Rassbach, the pharmacists' lawyer and national director of litigation for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, argues that a rule requiring pharmacists to stock Plan B is unconstitutional.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Obama's Health Care Plans Include Religious Discrimination

“If anyone should understand the ugliness of discrimination, it is our first African American president. . . My prayer is that he will wake up to what is really going on . . .”

-- From "'Right of conscience' move criticized" United Press International 4/8/09

The Bush administration rule, enacted the day before President Barack Obama took office, expanded the existing "right of conscience" law, under which doctors and other healthcare workers who didn't want to perform abortions could legally refuse to do so.

Under the new federal rule, any worker in a healthcare setting is free to refuse to provide services or information on topics ranging from contraception to vaccine counseling if they are morally opposed to the procedures, CNN reported Wednesday.

With a likely repeal of the rule by the Obama administration looming, Christian doctors argued Wednesday that rolling back the provision would be discriminatory, the broadcaster reported.

To read the entire, above article, CLICK HERE.

From "Health Care Professionals: First Black President Should End Religious Discrimination" by Penny Starr, Senior Staff Writer CNSNews.com 4/9/09

Health care professionals on Wednesay urged President Barack Obama not to rescind the "conscience clause" -- the Health and Human Services (HHS) regulation that bars federally funded groups from discriminating against medical workers who, for moral reasons, refuse to perform medical procedures such as abortion and prescribing the "morning-after" pill.

Doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals wearing white coats and green scrubs spoke at the National Press Club on Wednesday [including Dr. David Stevens, CEO of the Christian Medical Association].

The event came one day before the end of the 30-day public comment period on the HHS regulation.

What is happening, Stevens and other health care professionals said, is an ongoing campaign to discriminate against doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other medical workers who oppose performing procedures or filling prescriptions for religious reasons. They said some conscientious objectors are not being admitted to medical schools and are being passed over for promotions.

The results of a nationwide poll by The Polling Company/Woman Trend of 800 adults, 18 or older, and 2,865 members of faith-based health care professional organizations also was unveiled at the press conference.

The poll found that 87 percent of the adults said they think health care professionals should not be forced to participate in procedures and practices that they morally oppose – a number that represents people across the political spectrum.

The survey of health care professionals showed nearly three quarters, or 74 percent, believed that elimination of the conscience regulation would result in fewer doctors practicing medicine, and 66 percent said it would decrease access to medical treatment to patients in low-income areas. The survey also found that 58 percent of those surveyed predicted a reduction in hospitals providing services.

To read the entire, above article, CLICK HERE.

IL Pharmacists Winning Legal Battle over 'Morning-after' Pill

Sangamon County, Illinois Circuit Judge John Belz issued a temporary restraining order halting the governor's order forcing pharmacists to dispense the Plan B and other abortion-inducing drugs.

-- From "Ill. can't force dispensing 'morning-after' pill" Associated Press 4/6/09

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled in December that the pharmacists' case must be heard. The court decided then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who issued a rule in 2005 ordering pharmacies to dispense the so-called "morning-after" pill, had made statements indicating there would be no exceptions.

Belz is the same judge who sided with the state and dismissed the lawsuit filed in 2005 by Luke VanderBleek and Glenn Kosirog, who own five northern Illinois pharmacies between them.

"You cannot enact a law that targets people because of their religious objection," Manion said Monday.

The restraining order applies only to VanderBleek's and Kosirog's pharmacies. But Francis Manion of the American Center for Law and Justice, which is representing the pharmacists, doubts the state would enforce the rule elsewhere before the case is decided.

Manion expects a hearing Belz's court in June.

To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.

IL Supremes Allow Challenge to Gov. Blago Order

In the 5-to-2 decision, Pharmacists Luke Vander Bleek and Glen Kosirog gain ground against Gov. Rod Blagojevich's 2005 executive order (later to become an administrative regulation) requiring all Illinois pharmacists to dispense contraceptives, including the morning-after pill.

-- From "Illinois Supreme Court rules on pharmacists' 'right of conscience' case" Chicago Tribune 12/18/08

Vander Bleek and Kosirog alleged the governor’s action violated deeply held religious convictions: Both men are convinced that the drug can act as an abortion-causing agent.

A Sangamon County circuit court dismissed the pharmacy owners’ in 2005, arguing they had not demonstrated clear evidence of harm from Blagojevich’s order, and a divided appellate court upheld that decision last year.

The Supreme Court decided the plaintiffs had presented sufficient evidence of potential harm to warrant having their case heard in court. For instance, Vander Bleek said he closed a pharmacy in Prophetstown because he wasn’t able to recruit a pharmacist. Also, the court noted, the administrative rule was amended in the settlement of a separate lawsuit last year, providing grounds for a reconsideration of the case.

“It’s not a grand slam but it’s a home run,” said Francis Manion, co-counsel for the pharmacists and an attorney with the American Center for Law and Justice in Washington, D.C. “Until today, this case was going nowhere. Now it’s back in full force.”

“The court avoided the merits of the [pharmacists’] claim; all they did was say, procedurally, the case has to go back to the trial court for further consideration,” said Lorie Chaiten, director of the reproductive rights project at the ACLU of Illinois.

Before the governor intervened in 2005, Planned Parenthood was receiving several calls a month from women complaining that pharmacists had refused to fill prescriptions for contraceptives.

To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.

Bush Protects 'Right of Conscience' - Obama to Overturn

The Bush administration, in its final days, issued a federal rule Thursday reinforcing protections for doctors and other health care workers who refuse to participate in abortions and other procedures because of religious or moral objections.

UPDATE 1/15/09: Seven States Sue to Eliminate Bush 'Right of Conscience'

-- From "New rule for health providers stirs objections" by Kevin Freking, Associated Press Writer 12/18/08

Critics say the protections are so broad they limit a patient's right to get care and accurate information. For example, they fear the rule could make it possible for a pharmacy clerk to refuse to sell birth control pills without ramifications from an employer.

Under long-standing federal law, institutions may not discriminate against individuals who refuse to perform abortions or provide a referral for one. The administration's rule is intended to ensure that federal funds don't flow to providers who violate those laws, Health and Human Services officials said.

Several medical associations, more than 100 members of Congress, governors and 13 attorneys general were among the many thousands who wrote the department to protest the rule after it was proposed.

Several lawmakers have promised to take up legislation that would overturn the rule once Congress reconvenes in January. Another option is for the Obama administration to issue new regulations that would trump it. The rule will take effect on Jan. 18, two days before Obama takes office.

While campaigning in August, Obama criticized the proposal: "This proposed regulation complicates, rather than clarifies the law. It raises troubling issues about access to basic health care for women, particularly access to contraceptives," he said.

The Planned Parenthood Federation of America said about 200,000 people submitted comments opposing the rule, including about 90,000 comments from its supporters.

To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.

Obama, Media Pounce on Bush for 'Right of Conscience' Reg

A last-minute Bush administration plan to grant sweeping new protections to health care providers who oppose abortion and other procedures on religious or moral grounds has provoked a torrent of objections . . .

-- From "Last-minute Bush abortion ruling causes furor" by Robert Pear, New York Times (International) 11/18/08

The proposed rule would prohibit recipients of federal money from discriminating against doctors, nurses and other health care workers who refuse to perform or to assist in the performance of abortions or sterilization procedures because of their "religious beliefs or moral convictions."

It would also prevent hospitals, clinics, doctors' offices and drugstores from requiring employees with religious or moral objections to "assist in the performance of any part of a health service program or research activity" financed by the Department of Health and Human Services.

[The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission counsel] Reed Russell, and two Democratic members of the commission, Stuart Ishimaru and Christine Griffin, . . . said that the rule was unnecessary for the protection of employees and potentially confusing to employers.

Obama has said the proposal will raise new hurdles to women seeking reproductive health services, like abortion and some contraceptives. Michael Leavitt, the health and human services secretary, said that was not the purpose.

Officials at the Health and Human Services Department said they intended to issue a final version of the rule within days. Aides and advisers to Obama said he would try to rescind it, a process that could take three to six months.

The proposal is supported by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Catholic Health Association, which represents Catholic hospitals.

Sister Carol Keehan, president of the Catholic Health Association, said that in recent years, "we have seen a variety of efforts to force Catholic and other health care providers to perform or refer for abortions and sterilizations."

To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.

Pro-life Pharmacy Opens in D.C. Suburb

-- From "Full house greets 'faith-based' pharmacy" by Julia Duin, Washington Times 10/22/08

Divine Mercy Care Pharmacy, one of fewer than a dozen pharmacies in the country that refuse to stock any kind of birth control, cigarettes, pornography or condoms, opened with a Catholic bishop's blessing and sprinklings of holy water Tuesday in Chantilly [Virginia].

The store, just off Route 50 in one of Northern Virginia's busiest corridors, refuses to dispense birth control on the grounds that it destroys a developing life and that the hormones in birth-control pills are dangerous to a woman's health. Catholic doctrine forbids the use of artificial birth control.

The DMC Pharmacy is part of a national debate on the rights of pro-life pharmacists versus consumers who insist they dispense birth control. At least two people at the opening said they were Catholic pharmacists who said they had either lost their jobs for not giving out contraceptives or were in danger of doing so.

To read the entire article, CLICK HERE.

Good News! US Court Rules Pharmacists Must Have Rights of Conscience Respected

Lawyer says, “We forced the most pro-abortion Governor (Blagojevich) in the country to eat his words and to backtrack a long way."

From "US Court Rules Pharmacists Must Have Rights of Conscience Respected" by Hilary White, posted 10/17/07 at Lifesite.org

ST. LOUIS, Illinois, October 17, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The rights of pharmacists and other health care professionals to refuse to dispense abortifacient drugs have taken a step forward, according to a statement from the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ). A long running dispute between the state of Illinois, pharmacy owners such as Walgreens and Walmart stores and several pharmacists who refused to dispense abortifacient drugs has resulted in an agreement that pharmacists must be allowed to opt out.

In 2005, Walgreens pharmacist Rich Quayle was suspended from his job and said he would look for other work rather than agree to dispense the morning after pill in accord with a recently passed law. In April 2005, Governor Rod Blagojevich said that the “right of conscience does not apply to pharmacists” and issued an edict attempting to force all pharmacists in the state to distribute the drugs.

Unfortunately this won't help pharmacy owners who do not wish to stock abortifacient drugs. A Morrison pharmacy owner is hoping the Illinois Supreme Court will protect his right of conscience.

Read the whole article.

No Freedom of Conscience for Pharmacists Says Bill Passed by New Jersey Legislature

From "No Freedom of Conscience for Pharmacists Says Bill Passed by New Jersey Legislature" by John Jalsevec, posted 6/12/07 at LifeSite.net

A bill passed yesterday by the New Jersey legislature requires pharmacists to fill all prescriptions, even if doing so violates the religious or personal beliefs of the pharmacist.

The bill passed with a vote of 56-18. Currently it only awaits the signature of Gov. Jon Corzine in order to become law, as it was already passed by the Senate last June.

The official text of the bill reads: “A pharmacy practice site has a duty to properly fill lawful prescriptions for prescription drugs or devices that it carries for customers, without undue delay, despite any conflicts of employees to filling a prescription and dispensing a particular prescription drug or device due to sincerely held moral, philosophical or religious beliefs.”

The legislation also ensures that pharmacists are unable to escape the issue by not stocking controversial drugs—as some pharmacists have done in other states—by specifying that if a pharmacy does not have the prescribed drug or device in stock, then the pharmacy must either order the drug or device for the patient, or refer the patient to another pharmacy that is able to fill the prescription.

Assemblywoman Linda Stender (D-Union), who introduced the bill, defended the piece of legislation saying, “Democracy guarantees us the right to hold our own moral or religious beliefs, but under no circumstances should a pharmacist’s personal beliefs impede a patient’s ability to obtain their prescribed medicines…For any pharmacists to knowingly prevent access to health care is almost unconscionable.”

In other words, you can BELIEVE anything you want to. You just can't LIVE according to your beliefs. The ultimate privatization of faith...

Pharmacists have no right of conscience but customers have a new right -- the right to force an unwilling pharmacist to help them.

Freedom takes another hit in the hands of 'blind guides.'

Pharmicists' Freedom of Conscience Threatened at the Federal Level

Refusal could bring $500,000 fine.

From "Bill Would Force Pharmacists to Dispense Plan B" posted 6/7/07 at Citizenlink.org

Pharmacists who refuse to dispense Plan B, the so-called morning-after pill, are being targeted by a bill introduced Wednesday in the U.S. House and Senate. The Access to Birth Control Act – the ABC Act – would force pharmacists either to dispense the controversial drug or face up to a $500,000 fine.

The bill was introduced by Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., and Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J.

Some pharmacists have refused to give out Plan B because it sometimes can cause an early abortion. Wendy Wright, president of Concerned Women for America, said medical professionals should have the right to opt out.

“It makes no sense to require that pharmacists have to hand over drugs without using their professional judgment," she told Family News in Focus. "Pharmacists are respected professionals, they are not vending machines.”

Planned Parenthood and NARAL back the bill, claiming that pharmacists jeopardize women’s health and safety by refusing to dispense Plan B. Karen Brauer of Pharmacists for Life International said the pro-abortion groups are placing their agenda ahead of pharmacists' judgment.

“Planned Parenthood is out to increase its own business," she said. "They are going to trash the health of Americans.”

Joe Giganti, a columnist for Renew America, called the ABC bill outrageous, at best.

“The concept of forcing a pharmacy and a pharmacist to prescribe something that goes against their moral and scientific beliefs is as un-American as one can be.”

It's not enough that women can already legally kill their own unborn children. Everyone must get their hands dirty...

Appeals Court Rules Against Pharmacist Seeking Religious Rights Protection

From "Appeals Court Rules Against Pharmacist Seeking Religious Rights Protection" by Gudrun Schultz, posted 5/9/07 at Lifesite.net

The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against a Wisconsin pharmacist’s conscience rights May 2, declaring it would place too great a burden on Wal-Mart to accommodate his request not to be involved in any way with the distribution of abortifacient birth control.

Neil Noesen brought a lawsuit against Medical Staffing Network Inc., Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., and the state of Wisconsin for religious discrimination over refusing to ensure he would not interact with customers seeking contraceptive prescriptions.

Objecting to the abortifacient properties of contraceptive prescriptions, which can cause the death of an unborn baby in the earliest stages of development by preventing it from implanting in the womb, Noesen sought permission from his employers to avoid any contact with customers seeking contraceptives, including telephone requests.

Wal-Mart had agreed that Noesen would not be required to fill or otherwise handle contraceptive prescriptions, and had conceded that he would only be asked to serve the needs of male customers or women of non-childbearing age.

Noesen was denied permission to avoid answering the telephone, however, although he was told he could pass the call to another employee if the caller wanted contraceptives.

Pro-life advocates have likened such requirements to being granted permission not to shoot a victim, but being forced nonetheless to hand the gun to another shooter--both are a violation of the moral right not to participate in the killing of an innocent human being.

“Participating in the provision of a contraceptive article that inhibits the implantation of an unborn child, thereby causing the destruction of an unborn child, is unlawful and can never be considered a standard of care. There is no duty to provide this type of service,” Noesen’s attorney argued in a Barron County Circuit Court brief in 2005.

Read the rest of the article.

NARAL Bullies Kroger over Abortion Drug

Pro-abortion group says pharmacist should dispense Plan B regardless of moral objections.

From "NARAL Bullies Kroger over Abortion Drug" posted 3/12/07, at Citizenlink.com

NARAL Pro-Choice America is trying to force the Kroger chain to carry Plan B, the controversial morning-after pill. They say the medication should be dispensed regardless of a pharmacist’s moral objections.

Kroger’s policy is to allow each store to make its own decision whether to carry Plan B -- based on demographics.

Dionne Vann, director of NARAL Georgia, said pharmacists who won't dispense the drug aren’t doing their job.

“We’re seeing here that somehow these personal values are interfering with medical decisions made between a patient and their doctor,” Vann said.

What a thought -- personal values effecting one's behavior, even on the job...