No birth control here, but may I interest you in a vitamin?
7 is the number of pharmacies in the country that now refuse to sell any forms of contraception to their customers. When you think about it, seven really isn’t that big of a number, but it is seven too many pharmacists that are not filling contraception prescriptions because of their faith.
Yet another pharmacy, this one in Chantilly, VA, is refusing to honor doctors’ prescriptions for birth control and the morning after pill. No candy and no soda is sold either! Yes, Divine Mercy Care Pharmacy has a right to decide which products to sell, but that does not excuse the fact that these pharmacists are refusing to do their job!
Read more for excerpts from Matthew Barakat’s article and quotes from people who want to dictate your family planning.
“In Virginia…pharmacists can turn away any prescription for any reason.
‘I am grateful to be able to practice,’ pharmacy manager Robert Semler said, ‘where my conscience will never be violated and my faith does not have to be checked at the door each morning.’”
Really? What about the other people, the customers? By not honoring birth control prescriptions, Mr. Semler is pushing his religious beliefs onto others. How is that fair? Please explain.
“While Divine Mercy Care is not affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church, it is guided by church teachings on sexuality, which forbid any form of artificial contraception, including morning-after pills, condoms and birth control pills, a common prescription used by millions of women in the U.S.”
“The Virginia store’s policy has drawn scorn from some abortion rights groups, who have already called for a boycott and collected more than 1,000 signatures protesting the pharmacy.”
“‘If this emboldens other pharmacies in other parts of the state, it could really affect low-income and rural women in terms of access,’ said Tarina Keene, executive director of the Virginia chapter of the National Abortion Rights Action League.”
“Catherine Muskett said she plans to shop at the drug store even though she lives more than 20 miles away. ‘Obviously it’s good to support pro-life causes. Every little bit counts,’ said Muskett…”
Ok, it’s your choice if you’re pro-life and do not use birth control of any form. But what about those that do use birth control for family planning? What about those women who want to hold off on having babies for a time when they will be able to financially afford children?
Of course, urban patrons have the ability to go to a different pharmacy, there’s one on every corner. No one is forcing anyone to purchase birth control, and people can avoid the contraception isle if it pains them to look at it. Is it right that pharmacists like Mr. Semler have the ability to stop filling doctor prescribed medications just because a portion of the customers does not support family planning? I feel terrible for the young girls that are unable to get contraception because of other people’s choices.
If a pharmacist is not filling a prescription because of his religious beliefs, then he needs to reconsider his career.
(Writer’s opinionated note: using “his” instead of “his or hers” is not sexist, it’s just a matter of convenience.)
Source: The Huffington Post
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Comments
Julia,
From a socio-economic standpoint, why do you think it is alright for those not in a committed relationship – open to life – to participate in sexual intercourse? I will give you many reasons why society should act to prevent pre-marital sex and outlaw contraception. All of these reasons have been proven. None involve religion.
Imagine, for a moment, what would happen if we removed our penal system as a deterrent to crime. A similar result occurred when pharmaceuticals introduced the pill. They sold it as a new freedom. In reality, it gave our society a license to scratch their animal urges without immediate consequence. As a result, we spiraled down a path of despair and poverty. With no physical deterrent, adultery and pre-marital sex skyrocketed. In turn, divorce rates spiked, marriage rates declined and single motherhood became a norm. Secular statisticians clearly connected the pill to each and every one of these events.
These responses destroyed the family, our society’s foundation. Several generations of a half-fatherless society led to increased violence, crime and drug use. We witnessed the sexual revolution that brought us an ever increasing sexualized media, addictions to pornography, an onslaught of STD’s and the AIDS epidemic. Only 28% of children born today can expect their mother and father to remain together for life. Again, secular statisticians clearly connected single motherhood and casual sex to each and every one of these events.
With the exponential rise in unwanted pregnancies, an activist Supreme Court gave women the legal right to choose death in 1973. We witnessed an ongoing holocaust that, thus far, claimed the lives of more than 50 million innocent American souls. More recently, this culture of death accepted other intrinsic evils in the form of embryonic stem cell research, human cloning, euthanasia and infanticide. If you don’t believe abortion is murder, watch the video under my favorites on my digg page. I don’t believe that you can watch this and then state that abortion it is not murder. It should be mandatory viewing in high school biology / health.
Who do you think pays for all of these bad results? Our society pays. Our tax dollars are wasted fighting each of these effects. Our society becomes less educated and less motivated to be productive. The significant cost of this fight drags down our economy.
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This is like a school teacher saying she won’t teach a certain child because of the beliefs of the parents, etc. ad nauseum. I am sick and tired of these fake “humans” being able to disguise their “alien” ways under the guise of religiousity.