Pharmacist Loses In His Bid To Deny Care

Posted by Myrna the Minx on June 10, 2006 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

Here’s some good news balanced by some bad news on the reproductive rights/government enforced pregancy front.

From the AP: First, the good news. a federal judge ruled that Neil Noesen, a pharmacist who was fired by Wal-Mart for refusing to interact with patients seeking birth control, was fired appropriately. Noesen claimed that he was firing was a case of religious discrimination. But guess what, he was wrong.

U.S. District Judge John Shabaz dismissed a lawsuit brought by Neil Noesen, who claimed he was fired last summer at a Wal-Mart store in Onalaska out of religious discrimination. The lawsuit also named Medical Staffing Network, a staffing agency that placed Noesen at the store as a temporary pharmacist.

Shabaz said Wal-Mart and Medical Staffing Network accommodated Noesen’s religious opposition to contraception by having other pharmacists fill prescriptions. But he said Noesen went too far by putting customers who called about birth control on hold indefinitely and refusing to get service for those who showed up in person without notifying other pharmacists.

Noesen’s firing was justified because he was disruptive and failed to meet Wal-Mart’s expectations, the judge wrote in his 12-page ruling.

Wal-Mart spokesman John Simley said the company was pleased with the ruling.

“Under the circumstances, this is about the best possible solution you could ask for,” he said. “These cases are rare but when they do happen we are careful to make accommodations. We also have a responsibility to customers to ensure that their prescriptions are filled.”

As Feministing points out, what’s a bit surprising is that Wal-Mart hasn’t always been on the right side of this issue. Until recently, they refused to carry emergency contraception. According to the judge, Wal-Mart accomodated Noesen’s religious opposition to contraception by having other pharmacists fill prescriptions. But Noesen inflicted his moral judgement on patients seeking birth control by refusing to serve patients plain and simple. He put patients who phoned in on hold indefinitely and left patients at the walk-in counter without notifying other pharmacists as required by store policy.

Stephanie Adler, an Orlando lawyer who represented Medical Staffing Network said:

It demonstrates there has to be a balance between accommodating someone’s religious beliefs while at the same time providing a service and allowing people access to medical care,” Adler said. “Noesen believes that his personal beliefs are more important than a patient’s right to have access to legally prescribed medication.

My advice to Mr. Noesen, get a job where there are no standards of care or professional ethics or become a priest.

Okay, now the bad news. Washington state Board of Pharmacy moves toward allowing pharmacists to refuse to dispense emergency contraceptives or other medication on moral grounds, provided they don’t “obstruct” patients from getting that medication. And you see where that got us with people determined to make the rest of us adhere to their religious views like Mr. Noesen–it just wasn’t enough for him.

From the Seattle Times:

At the heart of the controversy is the emergency contraceptive pill, commonly called Plan B or morning-after pill, which some equate with abortion.

Recall my past rants on this situation. Let me just remind everyone that the Plan B pill is not abortion. Please, repeat after me. Plan B is not abortion.