Wendy Wright, Senior Policy Director for Concerned Women for America, Washington, DC, just forwarded the following press release, adding that Manzullo “did a great job today chairing a hearing on the forcing of pharmacies to provide morning-after-pill”:
Manzullo: Pharmacists Shouldn’t Be Forced to Choose Between Their Business, Beliefs
Monday, July 25, 2005
(WASHINGTON) House Small Business Committee Chairman Don Manzullo (R-IL) today said pharmacists in several states face fines and possibly the loss of their business if they refuse to dispense certain birth control drugs that are against their beliefs.
Manzullo, who held a full committee hearing on the issue today, said five states currently require pharmacists to dispense the morning-after pill even if they oppose it on moral or religious grounds. At least two bills have been introduced in Congress to carry the mandate throughout the nation, even though several other states have specifically given pharmacists the right to refuse to dispense medication if they oppose it on moral or religious grounds.
Failure to comply with the proposed federal legislation and the state mandates could cost pharmacists heavy fines and even revocation of their licenses.
“Pharmacists shouldn’t be forced to choose between their business and their beliefs,” Manzullo said.
Instead of creating rules to punish pharmacists and put their businesses at risk, the states should seek ways to diffuse the confrontation between pharmacists and their customers. Manzullo suggested creating a list of pharmacists who will fill certain prescriptions that doctors can share with their patients before they try to have their prescriptions filled.
“The confrontation could be avoided completely if a patient knew for sure that a certain pharmacist would fill his or her prescription,” Manzullo said.