Pharmacists Refusing to fill Birth Control

As a pharmacy technician, I can tell you we dispense about 10 cartons of various BC's a month. I have worked with about a dozen different pharmacists, and never once have we refused to fill a BC.

Apparently, these places who won't fill the scripts are local mom-and-pop places with moral issues. In that case, find yourself a Union pharmacy. Under penality of law, we have to fill things for our customers, if it's a valid perscription. The only ones we have not filled were ones we discovered to be fake. Nobody's going to fake a script for a BC. We also carry Plan B, the morning after pill mentioned in the other post. We can't refuse that either.


Point being, if you go to a Union pharmacy, we're not going to refuse any woman needing medication. If ya can't find yourself a Union pharmacy, go through mail order. Since you get a months supply as it is, there's shouldn't be much of a gap to worry about. I'm ashamed that some of the people in our profession are acting like that though. I know we never would.... in fact, I'm posting this from a pharmacy at the moment. I'm going to go fill some Orthro Tri-Cyclen Lo.
 
Halifirien said:
I only wish it was untrue, but I've been following this story for quite awhile. It happens, and the Illinois governor basically told pharmacists "That's bullshit and you will dispense it if a doctor prescribes it."

I can understand being uncomfortable dispensing birth control because it offends your sensibilities, but that's part of the package you sign up for when you become a pharmacist. Either get a job working for a pharmacy which doesn't handle birth control or quit your job.
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100% agree.

And I'm glad the gov'nah has stepped up.
 
chpal said:
Not to be a ass or anything, but women (and men) have to take full resposibilty for what they are doing. By taking a pill that cant get you pregenate you are basically telling yourself "I got the pill, I can do what ever the fuck I want now". well, no. Take respoisiblty for yourself and leanr when to and when not to have sex. Simple as that. you are blaming the phramacy for something that is entirely your fault. The pharmacist didnt make you go out and have unprotected sex. You got pregnate, your fault. Plus, just make the guy wear a condom. Not very hard to do.
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So you view pregnancy as just punishment for having sex? I think taking a pill which prevents you from having a child you don't want is taking responsibility for your actions.
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by chpal
Not to be a ass or anything, but women (and men) have to take full resposibilty for what they are doing. By taking a pill that cant get you pregenate you are basically telling yourself "I got the pill, I can do what ever the fuck I want now". well, no. Take respoisiblty for yourself and leanr when to and when not to have sex. Simple as that. you are blaming the phramacy for something that is entirely your fault. The pharmacist didnt make you go out and have unprotected sex. You got pregnate, your fault. Plus, just make the guy wear a condom. Not very hard to do.


Yeah I don't really see how this holds ANY water at all.
Plus, did you see my post about the condom breaking?

Nothing is foolproof. Not condoms, not the pill, not plan B...
But you have your options, and it's not the pharmacist's choice to take those options away from you.
 
Sneakypants said:
Yeah I don't really see how this holds ANY water at all.
Plus, did you see my post about the condom breaking?

Nothing is foolproof. Not condoms, not the pill, not plan B...
But you have your options, and it's not the pharmacist's choice to take those options away from you.
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/buttsecks :wink:
 
I've seen this story confirmed by other media sources (puts grain of salt on tounge). If a pharmacy will not fill your perscription, then go somewhere else. In no way are you entitled to be given any drug you are prescribed. That's why you see signs that say "We retain the right to refuse service to anyone". Ok, ok, you cought me.. I get my meds at a bar.... /blush

If Birth control is important to you, by all means get it from whatever source you see fit. Don't let one or two places cramp (no pun intended) what you need to get done.
 
My best friend is a pharmacist. She's dispensed medications at both a major chain and an independently owned pharmacy, and at both those locations has never been allowed to refuse a valid prescription. She wouldn't anyway, but it's always been policy wherever she worked that as long as the scrip is valid, then that means a doctor has determined there is a medical need for that scrip.

This sort of thing never, ever happens in urban or suburban areas. Pharmacies know they have to compete for customers, and wouldn't dare have an employee turn someone away due to (IMO misguided) beliefs about birth control. I can see this happening out in the boondocks though, where your only choice for meds is going to the Wal-Mart in the county seat where some RPh from a bottom of the barrel school is given the right by his employer to force their beliefs on their customer base.

And just to clarify, I'm actually pretty strongly pro-life (or anti-abortion, whichever moniker you prefer, we've already had that discussion, so no need to recover that ground :wink:). I also feel, however, that to be against both abortion and birth control is hypocrisy at its finest. The only sure fire way to stop an abortion is to ensure the pregnancy never happens to begin with. Birth control pills do that, by fooling the woman's body into thinking she's already pregnant and thus preventing the release of an egg during that month's cycles. Fertilization never occurs, so I really can't see what religious basis (other than blatant ignorance) anyone can have for refusing traditional birth control.

Oh and sure, I know there's the whole abstinence advocacy thing going on, but let's be realistic- noone who's ever actually had sex before is going to choose to never do so again. :spiteful:
 
I wrote that pretty late in the morning and wasnt thinking clearly. Im very iffy about pregnancy in general. Alot of my cousins and some friends have become pregnate at a very young age. My whole family of course put the blame squarely on them and one cousin became a outcast. Pregnancy for them was a punishment, they lost everything and Erica (a cousin gave birth at 17) had to drop out of school. For my family at least, it is squarely guy and girls fault and nothing else contributes to that. My view has nothing to do with this thread thoguh.
 
My real parents were a couple 14 year old kids, so I have definitely thought about abortion and a woman's right to make up her own mind. Although there was probably a greater chance of me being an abortion than a baby, I still weigh in over in the pro-choice corner. From my perspective, it's not like I'd know what the hell was going on if I never existed to begin with. I think pro-lifers put their morals or perhaps religion and/or beliefs before the actual objectivity and facts of the argument...But they probably think all pro-choicers are messed up somehow. Just, coming from my background and still being pro-choice, I'm definitely not putting any bias in front of the issue...


Of course, this all has little to do with prevention.
 
That article only refers to pharmacists refusing to distribute the morning after pill, not normal BC. While they should still distribute, I can see how some groups view the morning after pill as a form of abortion which does strongly disagree with what the church tells them. Not as extreme violation as the origonal article makes it out to be.

Additionally all the pharmacists were punished and removed. It's not as if this is going unchallenged. There are laws about it, as has been said, that are being enforced. No reason to throw out propaganda and stir up stuff over nothing.
 
Well, keep in mind it's a fund-raising letter. No matter how grounded in reality they are, they take the most hysterical tone they can generate to pry your money away from your clenched fists. Take it with a grain of salt and trash it or give them some money. It's usually not a tough choice.
 
Rones said:
That article only refers to pharmacists refusing to distribute the morning after pill, not normal BC. While they should still distribute, I can see how some groups view the morning after pill as a form of abortion which does strongly disagree with what the church tells them. Not as extreme violation as the origonal article makes it out to be.

Additionally all the pharmacists were punished and removed. It's not as if this is going unchallenged. There are laws about it, as has been said, that are being enforced. No reason to throw out propaganda and stir up stuff over nothing.
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Kinda, yeah.

But then again, this is nothing more than descrimination based on personal beliefs. I find it refreshing to see people who think "Every sperm is sacred" being put into thier place. I see this as less of an "Injustice" story, and more of a "Can you believe these archaic motherfuckers?" Story.

News articles like this make me giggle. Kudos to the OP.
 
1) I called a few places, including the Wal-Mart branch here, and they confirmed that pharmacists DO NOT have to fill a prescription if they don't think it's right.

What the hell? So if someone with pnemonia or herpes or something came in and wanted their prescription filled, the pharmacist has a right to deny their medication? This isn't only about birth control, it's the fact that they have the right to deny anything from inhalers to cancer medication. They can deny heart medication to those who need it to live because it's "not in their morals".

2) From what I'm understand here, some of you are saying not to have sex if you didn't get the pill. Well, my view on this :

A guy and girl are in the heat of the moment when suddenly the girl decides she can't have sex because she couldn't get her pills from the pharmacy and couldn't take it today. Guy gets mad, and a huge fight goes down. BUT it's not put on the pharmacy. It's put on the woman for not getting her pill.

It's bad enough my sister lives an hour away. I drive down there, pick her up, and bring her back up here to get her pill and now the local Wal-Mart is declining her? The only people we can get it from around here is Osco Drugs which they charge 5x the amount Wal-Mart does. Wal-Mart charges us $20 some odd dollars when Osco charged us close to $100 for the same exact thing. She sure as hell cannot afford $100 a month so I'm paying it. We've already checked in to all the other damn pharmacies around here and they denied her as well.

I'm just waiting for the day they try to say they cannot fill my PreNatal Vitamins because they do not believe in "the unmarried having children" or something like that. I doubt I won't go to jail that day, as well as most of my family and friends. I'm not one to lash out on people but that's my baby they're denying the vitamins to.
 
Atrbiohazard said:
1) I called a few places, including the Wal-Mart branch here, and they confirmed that pharmacists DO NOT have to fill a prescription if they don't think it's right.

What the hell? So if someone with pnemonia or herpes or something came in and wanted their prescription filled, the pharmacist has a right to deny their medication? This isn't only about birth control, it's the fact that they have the right to deny anything from inhalers to cancer medication. They can deny heart medication to those who need it to live because it's "not in their morals".

2) From what I'm understand here, some of you are saying not to have sex if you didn't get the pill. Well, my view on this :

A guy and girl are in the heat of the moment when suddenly the girl decides she can't have sex because she couldn't get her pills from the pharmacy and couldn't take it today. Guy gets mad, and a huge fight goes down. BUT it's not put on the pharmacy. It's put on the woman for not getting her pill.

It's bad enough my sister lives an hour away. I drive down there, pick her up, and bring her back up here to get her pill and now the local Wal-Mart is declining her? The only people we can get it from around here is Osco Drugs which they charge 5x the amount Wal-Mart does. Wal-Mart charges us $20 some odd dollars when Osco charged us close to $100 for the same exact thing. She sure as hell cannot afford $100 a month so I'm paying it. We've already checked in to all the other damn pharmacies around here and they denied her as well.

I'm just waiting for the day they try to say they cannot fill my PreNatal Vitamins because they do not believe in "the unmarried having children" or something like that. I doubt I won't go to jail that day, as well as most of my family and friends. I'm not one to lash out on people but that's my baby they're denying the vitamins to.
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That's insane. If she's got an insurance plan that helps to cover the cost of her medication, contact them about mail order. Other wise, get set up with a discount plan.

http://www.usadentalplan.org/rxprogram.htm

Discount and mail order, all in one $11 a month deal.
 
The morning after pill and birth control pills are vastly different things.

It's like comparing a condom to a coat hanger.

There's actually a precidence for this, doctors are not forced to perform abortions if they find it morally objectable. The morning after pill is a form of abortion not contraception, therefore if the pharmacist truly feels abortion is murder then to distribute the pill is wrong to them.

If someone is sexually active, buy condoms. Get the pill. Take a shot. There are so, so many methods of birth control, what I find disgusting is when people use ABORTION as birth control. Then Planned-Parenthood to blatently LIE on this article and send it, explaining about the pharmacist refusal and referring to the pills as birth control and not explaining they are morning-after pills is wrong as well. It's the kind of partisan propoganda bullshit that makes me hate liberals.
 
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Atrbiohazard said:
1) I called a few places, including the Wal-Mart branch here, and they confirmed that pharmacists DO NOT have to fill a prescription if they don't think it's right.
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I think either you misunderstood what they said or the person who spoke with didn't have a clue what the rules are (pretty likely coming from walmart). It is likely the person you spoke with was trying to say they don't have to fufill a persception that they think is wrong as in an error or health risk (perscription for the wrong meds). This would also include fraudulent perscriptions.

As has already been pointed out, there are state laws that already force the pharmicists to fufill legitmate perscriptions regardless of moral feelings, assuming they carry that drug. So what do you want? More laws that do the same thing? Even the linked article pointed out that the violaters were quickly removed and the legal system did its job.

Atrbio, you are over reacting and jumping to conclusions that haven't even happened (such as saying they won't fufill your pre natal pills and already criticizing them for something they didn't do yet). Unless this actually happens to you or someone you know, relax. This is a very isolated event that is being handled easily by the legal system. You should feel lucky if some place refuses to fufill your perscription, gives you a chance to sue them for millions and then you can go down the street to another pharmacy and pick the stuff up you need. :spiteful:
 
I wasn't jumping to conclusions. I was just saying IF they ever denied my prenatal vitamins. :P

Here are the CEO's exact words :

"I'm sorry but our pharmacists have the ability to refuse to fill any medications on account of their beliefs."

I have it recorded on my phone. If I could figure out how the hell to get it from my phone on to here, I would.
 
Shift Manager at the local wal mart isn't a CEO. I live 5 miles from Wal Mart headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas. I have friends who work there. No one gets to just call and chat with the CEOs. :wink:
 
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