Pharmacists refusing to fill valid prescriptions of birth control due to personal beliefs is unsettling. If you can’t get your prescriptions filled at a pharmacy, where will you go?

The American Pharmacists Association’s policy allows pharmacists to refuse to provide birth control if they do not agree with the act of preventing pregnancy with medication. However, pharmacists must make some type of arrangement for the patient/customer to get the medication.

“It would really make me feel vulnerable if I went to a pharmacy and asked for my prescription to be filled, and was denied,” said Christina Laporte, a freshman speech language pathology major. “I don’t think that it is fair of the pharmacists to decide if you can have your medication or not.”

According to the National Women’s Law Center’s Web site, obtaining contraceptives is a growing problem. Because of this, the organization made the Pharmacy Refusal Project, which addresses pharmacy refusals through many diverse ways including enforcing every law, new and old, litigating cases in state and federal courts all the way to the Supreme Court and teaching the public everything they need to know to make the law and public policies work for women and their families.

“I’m glad there is a place like the National Women’s Law Center; if they didn’t do this, who would?” said freshman sociology major Raquel Flores.

An article published by Stateline.org on December 9, 2005 said some Illinois pharmacists lost their jobs because of unwillingness to dispense emergency contraception. In Illinois, four Walgreen’s pharmacists were suspended without pay for saying they would not fill emergency contraceptives. Still, Illinois is currently the only state that requires pharmacies to sell the emergency contraceptive-Plan B, but California will soon go through with a similar law.

Anyone who is denied contraceptives can report the incident right away to the police. Then report the incident to the National Women’s Law Center. They will help you in a timely manner, arrange for your medication to be dispensed and will make sure that it never happens again.

Birth control is also available on campus at the Health Enhancement office in the Chick Evans Field House and the Health Services building.

“Students can be eligible for birth control options at the Health Services building, and local departments could also help,” said Beverly Espe, assistant director of Health Services. “If you visit the Health Services Web site, it can provide you with more information about all the birth control options that are provided.”

Refusal by the pharmacists themselves is a conflict of interest. Pharmacists do not have the right to tell you whether you can have medication you need: Women should not be denied medication used to protect themselves. It is unfair, unprofessional and should be considered a crime.

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