As reported by “Fred Vincy” at the Stone Court blog:
“As women in Massachusetts are forced to go to court to require Walmart to carry emergency contraception, and as corporate insensitivity to the need for ready access to EC becomes so great that Target earns praise for requiring pharmacists to fill EC prescriptions or refer them to other pharmacists, Walgreens deserves credit for telling its pharmacists, Just do your job and fill customer prescriptions. Of course, Walgreens is not getting praised, it’s getting sued:
On Friday, the American Center for Law and Justice filed a lawsuit in Madison County against Walgreens on behalf of four pharmacists who were suspended without pay after voicing opposition to the company’s policy on dispensing the “Plan B” pills because of their personal beliefs.
Walgreens requires all of its Illinois pharmacists to dispense Plan B pills as mandated by Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s new state rule, said Michael Polzin, a spokesman for Walgreens. The rule, which is the only one of its kind in the nation, requires that all Illinois pharmacies dispense contraceptives without delay.
“According to the state rule, the prescription must be filled at the same time that it would take to fill a normal prescription. At 5 p.m., that average time is 45 minutes; at 2 a.m. it takes about 5 minutes,” Polzin said. “It doesn’t give us the option of having a pharmacist on call.”
Other major retail pharmacies have not interpreted the order the way Walgreens has, said a statement from Francis J. Manion, senior counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice. The center is a public interest law firm based in Washington, D.C., founded by evangelist Pat Robertson.
“For whatever reason, Walgreens chose not to respect its pharmacists,” Manion said. “That’s why we’re going to court.”
“I may be going to the new Walgreens in my neighborhood more than I thought….
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