Pharmacists sticking to their convictions behind the counter are in the wrong line of work

In 2012, a judge ruled that you can’t force Washington pharmacists to give out the pill. That ruling, however, was overturned yesterday.

Pharmacists will now be compelled to provide Plan B. Attorney General Bob Ferguson is a fan of this ruling, and he says this is all about reproductive rights.

Some pharmacists are claiming it’s against their religious beliefs.

Plan B is the morning-after pill and serves as emergency contraception. At least, that’s what it’s for, but sometimes it’s abused. What it does is prevent pregnancy after sex. So the debate is whether or not it’s the drug equivalent of an abortion. Pharmacists are saying that they don’t want to violate their religion by giving out a drug that causes an abortion.

But with respect, that’s not what this pill does. It works before pregnancy &#8212 if a woman is already pregnant, this pill doesn’t work. So this is different than the case of Arlene’s Flowers, for instance, because there’s scientific proof that Plan B isn’t an abortion pill, taking religious beliefs completely out of it.

Of course, no one knows when life begins, so people err on the side life. I do too, but this belief isn’t based on science and pharmacists are in the position of using science (medicine) to make decisions.

As a result, I find myself agreeing with the courts on this one, not because of some reproductive rights reason, but because you’re a pharmacist and you shouldn’t be deciding what drugs you will or won’t give out because of a personal belief.

You’re in the wrong business for judgment, religiously-based or not.

Presumably you don’t believe in sex before marriage, yet you’re giving out drugs on a regular basis that can treat STDs. Your pharmacy likely sells condoms.

Moreover, every time you give out a prescription for Oxycontin or Vicodin, you’re potentially violating your religious convictions if someone who takes those pills are pill heads.

You can find verse after verse in the Bible talking about the importance of staying away from drug abuse: “If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.” -1 Corinthians.

You have no idea if people are properly using the drugs you dispense when those patients get home. Every one of them, for all you know, is violating one of your core religious beliefs as a result of you handing out that medication.

I’ve got the utmost respect for people who choose to live their lives as closely to their religious beliefs as possible. It’s really hard to do and part of me admires it, even if I have different religious beliefs.

But if you put yourself in a position where you’re supposed to be guided by science, you shouldn’t let your religious beliefs get in the way. And if you can’t set that aside, then you should be in another line of work.