"Moral" Pharmacists
So, pharmacists have decided that they want to take the moral high ground now. Does this mean they are going to finally stand up to HMO's and demand reliable medical care? Or perhaps they are going to draw the line on the price gouging done by drug companies? Is it the real problem of inadequate or non-existent insurance coverage for our senior citizens that ticked them off?
Of course not! It seems the new trend in American pharmacists is the idea that they have the right to decide who does and doesn't deserve to receive medication. For instance, over the past few months several anti-choice pharmacists have denied women access to the morning-after pill even though they have been prescribed by a doctor. Do these pharmacists check to see why the women may need the drug? No! It doesn't matter if the woman has been a victim of rape or incest or if she has cancer or AIDS or another disease that may make a pregnancy life-threatening for her. These pharmacists have decided that any pregnancy that could become a reality should, regardless if the women and/or her doctor disagree.
Now let me make something clear: I do not believe in abortion. I don't. I think is symbolizes a great failure of society that any woman would be put in a position where she faces the decision of having to end an unplanned pregnancy, but unfortunately we live in a world where that happens. Due to any number of factors ranging from poverty to lack of education around contraceptives to gross misuses of male power, abortion exists, forcing women to take matters into their own hands rather than with the supervision of a medical profession is only going to compound the situation.
Furthermore, I want to know where this stops. If we let pharmacists decide they have the right to bring their personal beliefs to work on this issue, what's next? Does a Catholic pharmacist then have the right to deny women access to their birth control pills because of his or her personal moral beliefs? Or refuse to sell condoms? What about the homophobic pharmacist that won't give an AIDS patient his or her AZT because they are offended by that person's "lifestyle." This is a slippery slope, folks, and I guarantee you it doesn't go both ways. I could never refuse to provide services to a Southern Baptist who I think is morally offensive. Can you just imagine that, I refuse to give Republicans Viagra because I think God made them impotent so they can't reproduce.
Everyone has their right to his or her own beliefs; that's the American way (in theory anyway), but no one should have the right to force his or her beliefs on someone else, especially when doing so could put that person's life at risk.
Of course not! It seems the new trend in American pharmacists is the idea that they have the right to decide who does and doesn't deserve to receive medication. For instance, over the past few months several anti-choice pharmacists have denied women access to the morning-after pill even though they have been prescribed by a doctor. Do these pharmacists check to see why the women may need the drug? No! It doesn't matter if the woman has been a victim of rape or incest or if she has cancer or AIDS or another disease that may make a pregnancy life-threatening for her. These pharmacists have decided that any pregnancy that could become a reality should, regardless if the women and/or her doctor disagree.
Now let me make something clear: I do not believe in abortion. I don't. I think is symbolizes a great failure of society that any woman would be put in a position where she faces the decision of having to end an unplanned pregnancy, but unfortunately we live in a world where that happens. Due to any number of factors ranging from poverty to lack of education around contraceptives to gross misuses of male power, abortion exists, forcing women to take matters into their own hands rather than with the supervision of a medical profession is only going to compound the situation.
Furthermore, I want to know where this stops. If we let pharmacists decide they have the right to bring their personal beliefs to work on this issue, what's next? Does a Catholic pharmacist then have the right to deny women access to their birth control pills because of his or her personal moral beliefs? Or refuse to sell condoms? What about the homophobic pharmacist that won't give an AIDS patient his or her AZT because they are offended by that person's "lifestyle." This is a slippery slope, folks, and I guarantee you it doesn't go both ways. I could never refuse to provide services to a Southern Baptist who I think is morally offensive. Can you just imagine that, I refuse to give Republicans Viagra because I think God made them impotent so they can't reproduce.
Everyone has their right to his or her own beliefs; that's the American way (in theory anyway), but no one should have the right to force his or her beliefs on someone else, especially when doing so could put that person's life at risk.
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