Editorial: When a pharmacist is a pill

Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2005 | 7:59 a.m.

The Nevada State Board of Pharmacy is to consider Thursday a measure that would allow pharmacists to refuse to fill a prescription because it violates their personal moral or religious beliefs.

Proponents of the proposal told the Reno Gazette-Journal that pharmacists shouldn't have to violate their own moral or religious beliefs by filling prescriptions for birth control pills and other medicines. Some of these supporters are pharmacists.

But suppose a woman who is given a birth control prescription lives in a town with one drugstore and one pharmacist, who refuses to fill the order. Lin's Marketplace Pharmacy in Overton is the only drugstore in town, but its female druggist is personally averse to dispensing Viagra, an employee told the Reno newspaper.

One can only imagine the problems that could be created by a pharmacist who makes moral assumptions about patients and refuses to fill prescriptions for treatment of sexually transmitted diseases or AIDS.

And one drug can be prescribed for a variety of reasons. Viagra also is used to treat severe pulmonary hypertension, even in children. Birth control may be necessary to prevent pregnancy while a woman is taking a medicine that can cause serious birth defects.

Still, regardless of the reasons for a prescription, the only reason a pharmacist needs is a doctor's order to fill it. The rest of the decision already has been made by the doctor and the patient.

Many professions include hard choices. For example, we would not want to hire a police officer who is morally opposed to shooting someone. We expect professionals to perform the duties for which they are trained and paid.

And if they are morally averse to any part of the job, they should find another line of work.