Ethics: pharmacists supplying the pill

[eise]

Should pharmacists be forced to supply birth control if it is against

their own beliefs and values?

 

Thought I'd spark a new discussion.

[Jochi1543]

Absolutely. Personal beliefs of the service provider should stay out of this. What if your surgeon thinks blood transfusion is immoral? Or your doctor thinks anything beyond prevention is against God's will, because if god wants you to die, you cannot interfere with god's will?

[Rock*]

I don't think so.

 

Individual rights to their own belief should only be violated if not doing so would cause harm to others. If a pharmacist refuses to dispense BC, he/she should be given that right, but he MUST be able to refer that person to someone who's willing to do the dispensing. If he/she refuses to offer the pt an alternative, then he/she should be forced in this case because the refusal would infringe on the welfare of another person.

[Jochi1543]

I don't think so.

 

Individual rights to their own belief should only be violated if not doing so would cause harm to others. If a pharmacist refuses to dispense BC, he/she should be given that right, but he MUST be able to refer that person to someone who's willing to do the dispensing. If he/she refuses to offer the pt an alternative, then he/she should be forced in this case because the refusal would infringe on the welfare of another person.

See, that's the problem, because this puts people in underserved/highly religious areas at a disadvantage. That's what's been going in the US Bible Belt - people end up having to drive 200-300 miles, often across state lines, to get EC. And this is a very time-sensitive issue, since the efficiency drops the longer you wait. What if the individual doesn't have the resources to make such a trip? Does she not deserve the medical care she desires because her pharmacist arbitrarily decided so? (we ALL know it's WOMEN who have to go through this, not men, so it's a gender discrimination issue as well) Personally, I think a woman should have the right to sue for child support in this case. Got moral problems with dispensing medications? Here's a solution, don't become a pharmacist, become a preacher. The more people insist on bringing religion into secular matters, the more problems arise. Religion should not be something that leads to healthcare discrimination.

[Rock*]

You make a good point Jochi. In your example, refusing to dispense should qualify as harming the pt. and since the pharmacist has no right in causing harm to others for his beliefs, he should be forced to dispense the BC.

[eise]

and do we all agree this still holds for the morning after pill?

[Jochi1543]

and do we all agree this still holds for the morning after pill?

Well, yeah, I was talking about that, actually.

[cindersley]

Interesting..this would be problematic for doctors/pharmacists who work in areas where they're THE ONLY one around. I use to work in a pharmacy where one of the pharmacists who didn't dispense morning after pills because of her religious background. But in our case, we had 3 pharmacists in our store and another big pharmacy across the street. So it wasn't a problem.

 

Being also religious myself I'm not quite sure where I stand on the issue. But one thing for sure, as a patient, I'm not sure if I want to have a doctor who would give up his own principles/set of ethics just so he can get into a certain profession. Even though some people think that religious people are dogmatic just because our "rules" come out of a book, I take just as much time and consideration into deciding what is right/wrong for me as much as everyone else does.

 

Although I have my own beliefs of the value of a life, and when life begins, I do believe that this is soemthing that everyone needs to decide for themselves. I think if I was a doctor/pharmacist with this kind of religious/ethical belief though, what I would do is to not work in a place where I'm the only health professional around that has the authority to prescribe the pill. That way, I won't need to give up my beliefs, and no one would be inconvenienced becuaes of it.

[AMmd]

Ok ppl.. using birth control pills is in no way against the beliefs of Christians... morning after pill is. So I dont see why there would be a problem with a pharmacist/physician giving somebody a birth control pill....for the morning after pill, well it is the same as for an abortion, if the physician doesnt want to prescribe it, well they can just recomment somebody that will.

[cindersley]

for sure! I don't think birth control is against any christian beliefs either. sorry, i thought we were talking about the morning after pill.

 

but I know that in some coutries where Catholism is the predominant religion (south africa/ phillipines), poorer sectors of the community are reluctant to use birth control because of religious reasons. I guess if there was a catholic doctor/ pharmacist who felt that way and they understood quite well their own rationale for holding this belief, then probalby the same thing would apply. Keep you belief, but dont' let it inconvenience/endanger your patients.

[Jochi1543]

for sure! I don't think birth control is against any christian beliefs either. sorry, i thought we were talking about the morning after pill.

 

but I know that in some coutries where Catholism is the predominant religion (south africa/ phillipines), poorer sectors of the community are reluctant to use birth control because of religious reasons. I guess if there was a catholic doctor/ pharmacist who felt that way and they understood quite well their own rationale for holding this belief, then probalby the same thing would apply. Keep you belief, but dont' let it inconvenience/endanger your patients.

 

You also have to remember that oftentimes people are holding onto those beliefs because they are brainwashed and/or don't have access to proper education. I went to a rural church in Eastern Europe with my father 2 years ago and we picked up some pamphlets there....some of the garbage there was UNBELIEVABLE. I'm not kidding, here are some of the things explicitly printed in there:

1) Having premarital sex makes white women consequently give birth to black children. They had some sort of blurb there about how Soviet women had sex with African athletes during the 1980 Olympic Games and then 10 years later they would give birth to a "Negro" child despite it being conceived by a white man.

2) Then there was something along the same lines about how premarital sex causes "irreversible genetic damage" - how apparently if a woman has premarital sex, all her offspring in the future will be plagued by diseases and crippled.

 

There was other stuff, mostly about homosexuality, but I don't remember the details, because I was so pissed off by the time I got to page 2, LOL.

 

And you know, those people believe it, because they don't have access to any reasonable information! Of course, the more educated and urban an area is, the more church has to control itself (think of gay-friendly congregations in large cities), but brainwashing and "selective withholding" of information has long been the church policy. Even today, if you Google abortion stuff, you will find hundreds and hundreds of websites (which can all eventually be traced to pro-life and religious groups) filled with false information. An example is the statistics of deaths and complications from childbirth vs from abortion procedures. Religious groups post all kinds of ridiculous info along the lines of "1 out of 10 women who undergoes an abortion dies," and a young person who doesn't know better and does not know which sources are reliable or not will believe it.

 

Anyway, bottom line of my ramblings is that religious agendas often don't have the individual's best interest in mind and the individual may not realize that.

[The Law]

Absolutely. Personal beliefs of the service provider should stay out of this. What if your surgeon thinks blood transfusion is immoral? Or your doctor thinks anything beyond prevention is against God's will, because if god wants you to die, you cannot interfere with god's will?

 

I agree with you.

People have to be careful to be objective and not inflict their views on others.