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Phinding a Pharmacist
By Fr. Dennis | May 20, 2008
For the last 2 years, I have been a happy mail-order customer of a pro-life pharmacy, Richmond Apothecary in Indiana. Now that I have moved back to Memphis for good, I’m looking for a local pharmacist to fill my ’scrips. It’s not very easy to find one. So far, I have called the nearby Kroger and the Schnucks grocery stores (they have pharmacies in the store), and they told me that none of the pharmacists there would have any problem filling a prescription for Plan-B.
I found out from someone at the Pharmacists for Life International that the Walgreen’s chain requires all pharmacy employees to fill prescriptions for Plan-B or risk losing their jobs, so Walgreen’s is off the list.
I discussed Walmart’s problematic response with respect to Plan-B back in March 2006.
I called a Rite Aid up the street, and the technician there told me that under Tennessee Law, a pharmacist was free to refuse to fill a prescription if he or she had ethical problems with it, but then the pharmacist would be required, under law, to refer someone to another pharmacy that would do the job for them. That said, he went on to say that, to the best of his knowledge, while the pharmacists at their store always complied with the law, they shared my ethical concerns regard to Plan-B.
Since I have a prescription that needs to be filled, that’s good enough for me today. It at least deserves a drop in visit to speak to the pharmacist in person.
Bad list so far:
- Walmart
- Walgreens
- Kroger
- Schnucks
May 20th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
You are looking at the reason that I cannot work retail. Fortunately, in both full-time jobs I’ve held as a pharmacist, I have never had to choose between my faith and my livelihood. It’s a sad fact that many pharmacists don’t really think much of the moral repercussions of what they are doing.
I usually recommend grocery store pharmacies. I have been told that Schnuck’s actually allows an individual pharmacist to determine whether or not to carry a certain item. You may be able to find a grocery store pharmacy that doesn’t carry Plan-B, but it would take a lot of calls.
May 21st, 2008 at 2:57 pm
help me
what is plan-b?
May 21st, 2008 at 5:52 pm
This is from the website of Plan-B’s manufacturer:
Note that while they claim it does not end an existing pregnancy, it can prevent a fertilized egg from implanting. They are making a very slippery semantic argument, but the bottom line is that it can kill an existing human person.
May 23rd, 2008 at 8:21 am
so the claim is that there is no pregnancy until implantation, so stopping implantation is not abortion. correct?
May 23rd, 2008 at 8:22 am
so what about the claims that it may prevent ovulation and/or fertilization?
simply unnatural?
not open to conception?
May 24th, 2008 at 10:18 am
Well, yeah, it’s unnatural. It separates love and unity of marriage from the potential to create new life.