Actions Taken On Women's Health-Related Legislation In Maine, Washington State

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Also Included In: Pharmacy / Pharmacist;  Sexual Health / STDs
Article Date: 30 Jan 2008 - 7:00 PDT

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The following highlights recent news of state actions on women's health-related legislation.

Birth Control

• Maine: The Legislative Council on Thursday voted 5-4 to block Sen. Doug Smith (R) from introducing a bill to the Senate that would require parental consent before any public school could provide prescription birth control to students ages 14 and younger, the AP/Boston Globe reports. The vote was along party lines, with Republicans supporting the measure and Democrats opposing it. According to the AP/Globe, the bill came in response to a Portland, Maine, School Committee decision to allow an independently operated health care center at King Middle School to provide students in grades six through eight with a range of contraception and counseling for sexually transmitted infections. Students are required to get permission from a parent or guardian before being treated at the center, but services provided at the clinic are confidential (Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 11/13/07).

Pharmacy Regulations

• Washington: Sen. Karen Keiser (D) last week tabled a bill (SB 6189) aimed at ensuring that emergency contraception is dispensed at pharmacies even if pharmacy owners or pharmacists have religious or moral objections, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports. The bill would require pharmacies to dispense all legally prescribed drugs and devices in a timely manner as a condition of licensure. Keiser said she tabled the bill pending the outcome of a related lawsuit (Slodysko, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 1/25). The court case involves a lawsuit filed by a pharmacy owner and two pharmacists who claim that a Board of Pharmacy rule establishing a duty to dispense EC violates their civil rights. U.S. District Court Judge Ronald Leighton issued a preliminary injunction that establishes a "refuse and refer" policy, which says that as long as pharmacists immediately refer patients to nearby pharmacies, the state cannot punish them for declining to provide EC. The American Civil Liberties Union, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Northwest Women's Law Center have filed an appeal with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (Daily Women's Health Policy Report, 12/13/07).

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