How can they ethically practice medicine and refuse to allow women access to contraception (which is also used for other medical conditions) and yet they stop pills so that grandpa can get a hard on at 80? Talk about skewed morals.

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Although I don't agree with what they are doing, it is a business and they can sell or not sell what they want. They'll lose customers and so lose profits. People can go somewhere else to get their needs.

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Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils

Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.

When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car.

A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.

The only reason people get lost in thought is because it's unfamiliar territory.

I could've eaten Alphabit soup and crapped out a better post!

I disagree. A pharmacist is a licensed medical professional and they are bound by the Hippocratic oath to help people. No where in the oath does it say you are allowed to opt out of helping your patients.

And in some places, there is only one pharmacy. So a woman who has been raped will be forced to drive an hour to the next pharmacy and pray that they will allow her to have her prescription?

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They may think that they are helping people with what they are doing. They probably feel that what they are doing is the same as "tough love" and that although it may hurt, it is needed.

An hours drive is not that much and as they already have the doctor's prescription, they don't have to worry. The article says that these places aren't stocking these medications, not that they have them and are just not issueing them. So one can call around and find out who stocks the needed medication, and just go there, that way you know they have it before driving all the way over there.

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Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils

Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.

When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car.

A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.

The only reason people get lost in thought is because it's unfamiliar territory.

I could've eaten Alphabit soup and crapped out a better post!

So you feel it is ok to deny rape victims easy access to a prescription drug that will stop them from getting pregnant? A pharmacist is not allowed to determine whether or not a patient really needs a medicine. They are there to fill prescriptions. If they are unable to do so, they should find another line of work.

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Hey, if a pharmacist doesn't want to fill a script, that's absolutely fine. In facy, they can keep their clear conscience all the way out the door and into unemployment statistics. Sorry, you don't get to have your cake and eat it too. Pharmacists make six figures to DO A JOB, and if they won't do it, fire their asses and find somebody who will. Hell, I'll get a PharmD and work for over $100k a year no problem. Defending a Pharmacist who refused to sell birth control based on personal morality is like defending a Muslim meat-packer who refuses to pack pork chops. Tough ****, you want the paycheck, YOU DO THE JOB. That, or find a job more suited to your moral principles.

Now that said, if a COMPANY only wants to sell certain drugs, more power to em. They're backwards, overly moralistic, and hurting their bottom line, but if they want to refuse to sell me condoms, I'll just go to Pathmark and get the 12 pack for $6.

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"Bring me that horizon".

Actually the pharmacist does a lot of counseling regarding medication and medical intercurrence. Doctors know which drugs kill whatever you have, but often will give you scripts for drugs that can interact and cause serious problems. This is why Pharmacists make six figures, they literally save lives by telling patients what's up, and getting doctors to change their manner of care.

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"Bring me that horizon".

Condoms is one thing. Refusing a woman who has been raped the drug that will keep her from conceiving is another thing. Taking that prescription and refusing to give it back is yet another.

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Yes, but the pharmacist does not say: Oh, they put you on X, but I think Y would be better. If they catch an interaction, then they call the Dr and get a new prescription. They do not go ahead and give you something else.

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Exactly! His job is to dispense legal prescriptions, not to enforce his morality on others. He should also be fired for refusing to do his job, just like any other employee who refuses would be. And if a pharmacist has a moral question about this aspect of his job, he should go into another line of work that won't conflict with his beliefs.

That's the idea, to try and prevent access, and this is wrong.

Think about it; a pharmacist (or insurance company) can deny contraception to women, but will dispense viagra so that impotent men can get a woman pregnant. It is a form of gender discrimination, usually based on religious beliefs.

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Walter Mondale: "George Bush doesn't have the manhood to apologize." George Bush: "Well, on the manhood thing, I'll put mine up against his any time."