Another Lawsuit Filed Against Ill. Governor Over Emergency Rule Requiring Pharmacies To Fill Birth Control Prescriptions

Main Category: Women's Health / Gynecology
Also Included In: Sexual Health / STDs;  Pharmacy / Pharmacist
Article Date: 19 Apr 2005 - 10:00 PDT

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USA - The Center for Law & Religious Freedom on Friday announced it has filed a lawsuit on behalf of a Chicago pharmacist challenging Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's (D) emergency rule requiring pharmacies in the state to accept and fill prescriptions for contraceptives "without delay," the second such lawsuit filed this month, the... AP/Belleville News Democrat reports (AP/Belleville News Democrat, 4/15). Blagojevich earlier this month issued the emergency rule and established a toll-free hotline for state residents to report refusals. Under the rule, which is effective for 150 days, a pharmacy or drug store must make arrangements to "promptly" fill prescriptions for contraceptives if the pharmacist on duty refuses to fill the prescriptions for moral reasons. However, the policy does not require all pharmacies to stock contraceptives. If a pharmacy stocks contraceptives but refuses to fill a valid prescription, it risks losing its license, according to Susan Hofer of the Illinois Department of Financial & Professional Regulation, the state agency that oversees pharmacies. The state is scheduled to hold hearings over the next few months to make the emergency ruling permanent (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 4/15).

Lawsuit Details
CLRF filed the suit in state court in Waukegan, Ill., on behalf of a Chicago pharmacist who opposes dispensing emergency contraceptives for religious reasons, the AP/News Democrat reports. The lawsuit alleges that the rule is "void" because it violates state law and surpasses the governor's authority under state and federal law, according to the AP/News Democrat. The suit is an attempt to protect the pharmacist's "right to continue to carry out his profession consistent with his Christian beliefs," according to a CLRF statement. Blagojevich spokesperson Abby Ottenhoff said that the governor's office will defend any lawsuits challenging the emergency rule. "We see this as another attempt to stand in the way of women's health care," Ottenhoff said, adding, "The governor will fight to see that women are treated with dignity at the pharmacy counter" (AP/Belleville News Democrat, 4/15).

Previous Lawsuit
The American Center for Law and Justice on Wednesday filed a lawsuit in a state court in Springfield, Ill., on behalf of two registered Illinois pharmacists -- Peggy Pace and John Menges, both of Edwardsville, Ill. -- alleging that the emergency rule violates the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act. The law makes it illegal for public officials to discriminate against or punish people who refuse to participate in health care services that go against their conscience. According to the suit, the rule also violates the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the Illinois Human Rights Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The pharmacists also charge that there was no "emergency" in the state necessitating the emergency rule.

Background
Blagojevich's emergency rule stems from a February incident in which a pharmacist at an Illinois OscoDrug store 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. OscoDrug and the American Pharmacists Association supported the pharmacist because of the state's Health Care Right of Conscience Act. However, Blagojevich earlier this month said that under his interpretation of the law, only physicians, not pharmacists, could invoke the clause. He added that he was taking a stand against a growing national trend of pharmacists who oppose abortion refusing to dispense contraceptives (Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report, 4/15).

"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.

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