Washington Pharmacies Caught in Battle over “Morning-After Pill”
By: Tiffany Rose/Trunews Reporter

CHATTANOOGA, TENN.— One of the most controversial drugs on the market today is Plan B, otherwise known as the “Morning-After Pill,” a contraceptive that was available by prescription only from 2003 to 2006.

As of December 2006, the Food and Drug Administration approved Plan B to be offered over-the- counter in drugstores across the U.S. and would still be available to women under the age of 18 with a prescription.

An ongoing issue for Washington pharmacies has sparked a debate about whether or not the government has the right to regulate the medication they carry, including Plan B, and enforce pharmacists to sell this drug regardless of religious and moral beliefs that this pill may terminate early life.

June 2006, the Washington State Board of Pharmacy voted to pass a rule that would allow a pharmacist to “refuse to sell a lawful medication based on personal, religious, or moral grounds,” but had to refer the patient to an alternative source. After pressure from Gov. Christine Gregoire, the board adopted an alternative rule that went into effect July 2007 and prevented pharmacists from refusing to dispense lawfully prescribed drugs.

Two pro-life pharmacists and a pharmacy owner in Washington recently won a request for a preliminary injunction in court on November 8 after they filed a lawsuit that objected to these newly passed regulations. The injunction will prohibit the state from enforcing regulations against pharmacy owners and pharmacies, pending trial in October 2008.

Donn Moyer, spokesperson for the Washington State Board of Health, said he is unhappy with the court’s ruling.

“The state department of health and the state board of pharmacy were all disappointed by the decision,” Moyer commented. “We really believe that everyone should be able to get a prescription filled when they need one. Valid, legal prescriptions should be filled whenever they’re needed. This is really about patient care.”

Kristen Waggoner, attorney at Ellis, Li & McKinstry and American Defense Fund-allied attorney for the plaintiffs, said she disagrees with what the state has said is their reason for regulating Plan B.

“We were able to prove to the court that we will likely prevail in arguing that the state has targeted people because of their faith,” said Waggoner. “The state countered by saying, ‘Well even if that’s true, we have a compelling interest in ensuring everybody has access to Plan B.’ We then produced a survey that the board of pharmacy itself conducted, which shows that approximately 80 percent of all pharmacies in the state stock plan B regularly, and something like 18 percent of the 20 percent that don’t stock it say there’s no customer demand.”

Kevin Stormans, owner of Ralph’s Thriftway in Olympia, Wash. and one of the plaintiffs, said he was turned in to the board of pharmacy a year ago because he refused to stock Plan B.

“Shortly after that people would come in and ask for it [Plan B], and they started a big issue about it,” said Stormans. “We took a look at the product, realized that one of the things it does is prevent a fertilized egg from implanting, and that’s a problem with us. We believe life begins at fertilization, and if you interfere with that, you’re terminating life.”

Ralph’s Thriftway has been the target of several boycotts over the last year, led by pro-choice groups such as Planned Parenthood and the National Organization of Women, despite the fact that there are other pharmacies in the area that stock Plan B, according to Stormans.

“There are 34 pharmacies within 5 miles of our store and 32 of them carry the product Plan B. We don’t, and one other store doesn’t carry it,” Stormans said.

While Stormans suffered substantial losses in sales as a result of the boycott, the other plaintiffs in the case have also faced challenges with their jobs.

“One of our plaintiffs lost her job because she was the only pharmacist on duty, and the regulations forced the pharmacy to either hire a second pharmacist at approximately $100,000 a year or let her go,” said Waggoner. “Our second plaintiff is also in jeopardy of losing her job.”

Whether or not taking this emergency contraceptive will cause an early abortion has been an issue that is widely debated among doctors and pharmacists such as Stormans. Dr. Gene Rudd, senior vice president for the Christian Medical Association, said there is a fine line between whether or not this pill is an early abortion technique.

“God doesn’t give us any clue that we can draw the line somewhere other than fertilization, and until we have permission from Him to understand that we don’t have to honor life until sometime later, I think the thing that we have to do is to assume that we should honor life throughout its entire process,” stated Rudd. “I don’t prescribe contraceptives that I know can interfere with early human development.”

According to Stormans, this issue is not only about his First Amendment right to freedom of religion, but also concerns the power of the government. Despite opposition from boycotts and pickets, Stormans has been greeted with support from those who disagree with his stance on the contraceptive.

“It is just flat wrong for the government to get into business and tell businesses they have to carry a product,” said Stormans. “It is overwhelming the number of people that come up to us in email, phone, you know we run into around town, say, ‘You know what Kevin, I really don’t agree with you position on this pill,’ but they say, ‘We support you 100 percent, because it is just wrong for the government to step in and tell you that you have to carry a product, tell you how to run your business in that manner.’”

Rudd said he agrees that the government should not be allowed to take away a pharmacist’s right to exercise his or her conscience.

“Even for people who don’t agree with the pharmacist and say, ‘Well I don’t share you moral convictions,’ we need to be careful that we don’t start taking that right away from anyone. If we start taking that right away from the pharmacist, then it easy to start taking that right away from anyone,” explained Rudd.

To read the full document of the order granting the motion for preliminary injunction for this case, go to www.telladf.org.

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