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Pharmacy Refusal
"In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity." -- Albert Einstein
On September 27th, 2007, all of us were filled with sadness, anger and disbelief. The judge in our pharmacy refusal lawsuit issued a preliminary order preventing our state's rule requiring pharmacies to fill all lawful prescriptions without discrimination or delay from taking effect. Make no mistake: These rules were passed to promote the health of Washingtonians. The court ignored that overarching goal and focused instead on emergency contraception -- a critical medication, but not the only one covered by this rule. So, we are sad because this ruling means women throughout Washington may now be refused EC. We are angry because women's rights to make decisions about their health are under increasing attack, and this decision is another blow in that attack. And we are disbelieving because we are confident that these rules are not only necessary, but also constitutional.
The ruling is a preliminary order -- the case is not over, and of course we won't give up on this issue. Ever. But there's no denying this decision reinforces the dangerous and unconstitutional trend toward elevating an individual's personal, moral, or religious beliefs over public health and safety. This decision allows a pharmacist's personal beliefs to trump not only their patients' rights to health care, but also patients' own moral and religious beliefs. We know most people in Washington -- and across the country -- strongly oppose permitting pharmacists to refuse to fill prescriptions. The Law Center will continue this fight until the rights of patients are fully protected by law.
And thank you for supporting the Northwest Women's Law Center.
Pharmacy Boards Adopt Policies Protecting Patients
As part of its work for reproductive freedom and justice, the Law Center has been advocating in Oregon and Washington to ensure that all patients receive their lawfully prescribed medications. Women throughout the country have found themselves turned away from their local drugstore when presenting their pharmacists with prescriptions for contraceptives, particularly emergency contraception (EC). (http://ec.princeton.edu/). It's not just EC, however: patients have been refused antibiotics, anti-depressants and other drugs as well. The Law Center's successful advocacy has resulted in victories in both states for patients. We plan to continue our advocacy in the other northwest states.
Washington: New Draft Policy Requires that Patients Receive their Medications
After months of debate and position-shifting, the Washington State Board of Pharmacy on August 31, 2006, adopted a policy that protects patients' access to their prescriptions. The proposed rule adopted by the Board on a 6 to 1 vote requires pharmacists to dispense all lawfully prescribed drugs and devices and clarifies that a pharmacist's personal and/or moral judgments have no place at the pharmacy counter. As adopted, the rule will also ensure that women will be able to access emergency contraception (EC) without delay or obstruction when it becomes available over the counter later this year. The decision to proceed with this rule is a reversal for the state Board, which had voted earlier this summer to adopt a policy that would have allowed pharmacists to deny filling prescriptions for personal reasons.
At the board meeting on the 31st, the Governor's office presented language, negotiated and agreed upon by the Law Center and its allies, representatives of the Washington State Pharmacy Association and the Department of Health, and urged the Board to adopt the agreed upon language without amendment. After discussion the Board voted to adopt the negotiated proposal with one change - they opted to place the dispensing duty on the individual pharmacist rather than on the pharmacy.
Although this is not the final step in the process, we are heartened to see that the Board Members finally responded to the outcry from the public, advocacy organizations and the Governor. The rule now continues through the administrative process, including public comment. We hope it will be adopted by the end of the year. Changes to the rule are still possible, so we'll remain vigilant to ensure that patient rights are protected and that all of us have access to the lawful medications we need.
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If you've been refused at the pharmacy counter, we'd like to hear about it. Please contact us at nwwlc@nwwlc.org. |
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Oregon: Oregon Pharmacy Board Adopts Policy that Requires Pharmacists, Regardless of Moral Objections, to Make Sure Patients Get Their Prescription Medications |
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read our Press Release  |