Illinois Governor Issues Emergency Rule Requiring Pharmacies To Fill Contraceptive Prescriptions

Main Category: Public Health
Article Date: 05 Apr 2005 - 7:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions

Illinois Gov Rod Blagojevich (D) on Friday issued an emergency rule requiring pharmacies to accept and fill prescriptions for contraceptives "without delay" and established a toll-free number for state residents to report refusals, the... Washington Post reports (Lyderson, Washington Post, 4/2). "Our regulation says that if a woman goes to a pharmacy with a prescription for birth control, the pharmacy or the pharmacists is not allowed to discriminate or to choose who he sells it to or who he doesn't sell it to," Blagojevich said, adding, "No delays, no hassles. No lectures" (Davey, New York Times, 4/2). Under the rule, which lasts 150 days, if a pharmacist refuses to fill a prescription for contraceptives, the drug store must ensure that the patient receives the prescription "promptly" -- usually by having another pharmacist fill the prescription, according to the Los Angeles Times. However, the policy does not require all pharmacies to stock contraceptives. According to Susan Hofer of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, the state agency that oversees pharmacies, if a pharmacy does carry contraceptives but refuses to fill a valid prescription, it risks losing its license. She added that over the next 150 days, the state will hold public hearings on a proposal to make the rule permanent. "When you or I walk into a pharmacy with a prescription, we have to have a strong level of confidence that we're going to walk out carrying the drugs we need," Hofer said, adding, "If the drug is in stock, it must be dispensed. End of discussion" (Simon, Los Angeles Times, 4/2).

Background
In February, a pharmacist at an Osco drug store in Illinois refused to dispense emergency contraception -- which can prevent pregnancy if taken within 72 hours of sexual intercourse -- to two women, saying that they could return at a later time and ask for a different pharmacist. Osco and the American Pharmacists Association supported the pharmacist because of Illinois' "conscience clause" rule, which allows physicians to refuse to perform abortion-related services on moral or religious grounds. However, Blagojevich on Friday said that under his interpretation, only physicians, not pharmacists, could invoke the clause, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. He added that he was "taking a stand against a growing national trend" of pharmacists who oppose abortion refusing to dispense contraceptives, the Sun-Times reports (Pallasch, Chicago Sun-Times, 4/2). "[T]his is happening all over the country. There's a pattern of this behavior. This is not just a coincidence but part and parcel of a larger campaign," Blagojevich said (Washington Post, 4/2).

NPR's "All Things Considered" on Sunday reported on Blagojevich's action. The segment includes comments from Blagojevich; Lloyd DuPlantis, board member of Pharmacists for Life International; and Frances Kissling, president of Catholics for a Free Choice (Rovner, "All Things Considered," NPR, 4/3). The complete segment is available online in RealPlayer.

"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork.org kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/repro The Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.