Good News on Emergency Contraception
By Sara L. Ainsworth of the Northwest Women’s Law Center, Nancy Bennett of Planned Parenthood of the Columbia/Willamette, Michele Stranger Hunter of NARAL Pro-Choice Oregon, and Kellie Shoemaker of Planned Parenthood Health Services of Southern Oregon.
Life just got a little easier for women in Oregon with the Oregon Board of Pharmacy’s recent decision to adopt a policy that will assure women access to emergency contraception. Contrary to the views of some, adoption of this policy is a victory for the women of this state.
As leaders in the pro-choice community, we are pleased that our work with the Board of Pharmacy over the past several months led to the adoption of a policy that ensures women receive timely access to safe and valid prescriptions. By collaborating with the Board we were able to secure a position statement that holds the pharmacist in charge responsible for assuring that the patient’s prescription is filled seamlessly. The policy forbids pharmacists from lecturing their patients on religious or moral beliefs, violating their privacy, confiscating, destroying, or tampering with their prescription. Pharmacists that have an objection to filling a particular prescription must notify their employer in advance of these objections and the pharmacist in charge must develop written policies to address how they intend to handle moral and religious objections.
While these policies may accommodate the objecting pharmacist, any accommodation must ensure that the patient receives his/her prescription in a timely manner. And if the drug is not stocked, under this policy the pharmacist must identify concrete, timely referrals to a nearby pharmacy that does stock the drug.
While some have said that this policy doesn’t go far enough, they fail to realize that it is one of the best in the nation. Will we have to monitor patient’s experiences to make sure that the policy is working effectively and as intended? Absolutely. If we discover that women are having problems accessing prescription contraceptives, we will continue to work with the Pharmacy Board improve the policy. We believe that in the long run by collaborating with the Pharmacy Board on this endeavor, we’ve greatly increased our ability to work with pharmacists throughout the state in increasing access to birth control and emergency contraception. And ultimately, that’s a victory for the women of Oregon.
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June 23, 2006
Posted in guest column. |
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Jun 23, '06
[Unnecessary and vile comment deleted. -editor.]
12:10 p.m.
Jun 23, '06
Stay vigilant.
Personally, I would prefer a rule that simply requires the pharmacists to follow their legal and ethical duty to provide patients any medications that are legally prescribed.
But if these advocates say this is a good compromise, then I'll take a wait-and-see on this. But stay vigilant.
As I said on Sadler's post, a pharmacist refusing to fill a legal prescription on a moral objection is like a supermarket checkout clerk refusing to check and bag ground beef because s/he is a vegetarian.
If your occupation conflicts with your personal morality, get a different occupation.
Jun 23, '06
this is an advance and thank you for fighting for it, but i can't call it victory until discrimination against women by pharmacists is illegal.
how is "nearby" defined? and "timely"? i'm spoiled here in portland, where we're short on christian extremists and long on pharmacies to choose from. also, i have the money to ensure i can get where i need to go. but a woman down to her last ten bucks in prineville? she just has to trust words like "timely" and "nearby" i guess.
Jun 23, '06
If your occupation conflicts with your personal morality, get a different occupation.
Just one point to add to the discussion. Oregon currently has a shortage of pharmacists. A Walgreens down the street from me has delayed opening due to not being able to hire a pharmacist.
In a perfect world, you are right. Unfortunately, like it or not , we can't afford to lose many of these folks.
OK, fire away, you would rather have no pharmacist than one who won't fill one prescription. I know... I know...
Jun 23, '06
Way to go, folks.
'S good to have a policy that generally meets the needs of women while maintaining a decent relationship with pharmacists. I'm sure that NARAL, PParenthood, etc. have to work with the pharmacists in the Legislature, and it seems like a smart deal that meets folks' needs.
Jun 23, '06
Perhaps the writers could specify with a little more candidness exactly what is legally mandated, and what the repercussions, if any, are for pharmacies and pharmacists who don't follow the policy? And, precisely, what are the options for a woman in the moment, when it matters, if the policy is not followed?
As described here, this actually comes across as an attempt to disguise somewhat of a failure rather than an actual success. The backhanded swat against proponents of a more effective and meaningful policy: while some have said that this policy doesn’t go far enough, they fail to realize that it is one of the best in the nation doesn't help. It draws attention to the fact that since Oregon leans much more pro-choice than most other states, it is relatively easy to do far better than most states.