Judge: IL pharmacists may challenge EC law
A federal judge said Illinois pharmacists can move forward with legal action to strike down a state rule requiring pharmacies to fill prescriptions for emergency contraception (EC). The suit was filed by five pharmacists who said they were suspended by the Walgreens chain after they refused to dispense the Plan B morning-after pill on religious and moral grounds. The suit against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich claimed the rule violated their rights under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Blagojevich moved to dismiss the suit, but federal judge Jeanne Scott refused, saying the pharmacists might be able to prove that the rule is unfairly directed at them because of their beliefs. "The plaintiffs' allegations, if true, may establish that the object of the rule is to target pharmacists, such as the plaintiffs, who have religious objections to emergency contraceptives, for the purpose of forcing them to either compromise their religious beliefs or to leave the practice of pharmacy," Scott wrote in her opinion. "Such an object is not religiously neutral."
The rule requires pharmacists to accept and fill prescriptions for ECs without delay. It also says that if the prescribed contraceptive or a suitable alternative is not in stock, the pharmacy must order it or transfer the prescription to another local pharmacy of the patient's choice. If a druggist refuses to fill the prescription on moral or religious grounds, another pharmacist must be available to meet the patient's needs, according to the law.
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