[Pflienews] PFLI PharmFacts E-News Update: WA State Caves, will grant Pharmacists Conscience Rights
PFLI PharmAid Center
pfli at pfli.org
Wed Jul 7 19:59:36 MDT 2010
*PharmFacts E-News Update -- 7 July 2010 AD
**This daily e-newsletter is only possible through the generous gifts of
our readers and supporters. Please help us continue to fight for the
defense of babies by donating today!** **Click here*
<http://www.pfli.org/shop/index1.html>*
<http://www.pfli.org/shop/index1.html>to help or to renew your dues
online TODAY!
**** We do NOT send out SPAM. To subscribe to PharmFacts E-News, just
send an e-mail with the word
"subscribe" in the subject area or better yet, just enroll right from
our main news page at
http://www.pfli.org; to cease your subscription [although we can't
imagine anyone would!] self-manage your account at:
http://pfli.org/mailman/listinfo/pflienews_pfli.org
*** <http://www.pfli.org/shop/contents/en-us/d4.html>
<http://www.pfli.org/shop/contents/en-us/d4.html> DONATE TODAY....PFLI
is relying on /you/ <http://www.pfli.org/shop/contents/en-us/d4.html>*
Please help us carry on our apostolate to help protect the
innocent preborn and defend pharmacist rights of conscience. We
also are pulling out the stops to raise extra funds for vitamins
and supplies for pregnancy help centers, and for earthquake
victims in Haiti.
Goal: $50,000; Can you give a sacrificial gift today?
*This (almost) daily e-newsletter is only possible through the generous
gifts of our readers and supporters. Please help us continue to fight
for the defense of babies by donating today!** **Click here*
<http://www.pfli.org/shop/index1.html>*
<http://www.pfli.org/shop/index1.html>to help or to renew your dues
online TODAY!
**
If you have not done so, NOW is time to renew your commitment for 2010
<http://www.pfli.org/shop>to the preborn and the mission of PFLI by
renewing your membership in the ONLY pro-life association of
pharmacists, technicians, interns, students and the lay public. We rely
solely on the dues and donations of our members and supporters to
continue this apostolate of education and providing material assistance
to pregnancy help centers. Consider a two year renewal and save 10% over
the annual rate! Three year renewal enjoys a 15% discount! Do it today!
We know the economy has been difficult for many families this year, and
non-profit volunteer organizations like ours are the first to feel those
effects. Can you send you most generous gift this year for your
association? $5, $10, $25, $50, $100? <http://www.pfli.org/shop>
***
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Frank J. Nice, RPh, DPA, CPHP*
*Check out my Website and Book, "Nonprescription Drugs for the
Breastfeeding Mother" at: *
www.nicebreastfeeding.com <http://www.nicebreastfeeding.com/>
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRESS RELEASE
*Contact:* Montserrat Alvarado
*Phone:* 202-590-6966
*FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
*
**July 7, 2010
*Washington State Capitulates, Recognizes Pharmacists' Conscience Rights*
July 7, 2010
This afternoon, less than two weeks before the start of a civil rights
trial in Tacoma federal court, attorneys for the State of
Washington told a federal judge that the State would seek to create new
rules for pharmacists with conscientious objections. The new regulations
would give the plaintiffs in the lawsuit--the owners of Ralph's
Thriftway pharmacy and two pharmacists--what they've wanted all along:
the right to refuse to stock or dispense Plan B (the so-called "morning
after pill") based on their conscientious objection.
This is an enormous about-face for the State, which has for several
years maintained that it had to restrict the religious freedoms of
pharmacies and pharmacists in order to ensure patient access to the
morning after pill. In its filing today, however, the State concedes
that allowing pharmacists with conscientious objections to refer
patients to other pharmacies "is a time-honored pharmacy practice" that
is "often in the best interest of patients, pharmacies, and pharmacists"
and "do[es] not pose a threat to timely access to lawfully prescribed
medications." Based on the State's representations, the Plaintiffs have
agreed to allow the trial to be postponed while the Washington State
Board of Pharmacy undertakes its rule-making process. Washington State
is capitulating less than a month after The Becket Fund for Religious
Liberty<http://www.becketfund. org> helped Plaintiffs defeat
Washington's motion for summary judgment.
"This sends a clear signal to Governor Christine Gregoire that her
bullying tactics are not acceptable. First she threatened to fire the
members of the State Board of Pharmacy if they did not agree with her;
then, she tried to pressure the pharmacy by joining a boycott against
Ralph's Thriftway," said Eric Rassbach, National Director of Litigation
for the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. "It may come as a surprise to
her, but conscientious and principled people like the owners and
pharmacists of Ralph's Thriftway are the backbone of this country."
The controversy began in 2006 when the State Board of Pharmacy
unanimously supported a rule protecting conscience for pharmacy workers.
The Board voted in favor of a regulation allowing pharmacists with
religious objections to refrain from dispensing Plan B and to refer
patients to nearby suppliers. Governor Gregoire soon learned about the
protection, publicly threatened to fire the Board's members, and even
called them late at night to lobby them. Matters escalated when the
State's Human Rights Commission insinuated that Board members could be
held personally liable under gender discrimination laws if they
supported the regulation.
Buckling under these pressures, the Board decided to reconsider the
issue and instead adopted new language mandating pharmacies to stock and
dispense the medication even when doing so violates their conscience.
The Board adopted this regulation even though it admitted it found no
evidence that anyone in the state had ever been unable to obtain Plan B
(or any other time-sensitive medication) due to religious objections.
The Becket Fund's clients, a family owned pharmacy and two individual
pharmacists, filed suit to prevent the new regulation from forcing them
out of their profession.
"Americans should not be forced out of their professions solely because
of their religious beliefs--but that is exactly what Washington State
sought to do," said Luke Goodrich, legal counsel at The Becket Fund.
"The government should accommodate and protect the fundamental rights of
all members of the medical profession, not punish some members because
of their religious beliefs."
Legal Voice, a group that intervened in the case to defend the
regulations, has already decried Washington's change, calling it an
"outrage."
The Becket Fund represents the plaintiffs along with Kristin Waggoner
and Steven O'Ban of the Seattle firm Ellis, Li & McKinstry, PLLC.
Based in Washington, D.C., The Becket Fund for Religious
Liberty<http://www.becketfund. org> is a nonpartisan public-interest law
firm dedicated to protecting the free expression of all religious
traditions.
For more information or to arrange an interview with one of the
attorneys, email Kristina Arriaga, atkarriaga at becketfund.org<
mailto:karriaga at becketfund.org >, or call cell 703.582.8962
**_Resources and Documents_**:
Petition for Rehearing
9th Circuit Court Opinion
Revised 9th Circuit Court Opinion Granting Petition
Final Response to MSJ
**_Other sources:_**
Letter from Christine O. Gregoire, Governor of Washington State, to Dr.
Asaad Awan, Chair, Washington State Board of Pharmacy (June 1, 2006)
Original 2006 State Board of Pharmacists draft language
The Becket Fund is also fighting for healthcare workers' conscience
rights at the federal level, opposing an Obama
Administration proposal to eliminate a regulation that protects those
conscience rights. The regulation, which went into effect on January 20,
2009, protects health care workers who want to opt out of performing
procedures or dispensing medications that would violate the ir
conscience. On April 8, 2009, The Becket Fund submitted a response that
provides a detailed history of conscientious objection and the legal and
historical support for the right of conscience in the health care
profession. The Becket Fund also wrote an op-ed for the Washington Times
on conscience clauses, authored by Founder Seamus Hasson and Legal
Counsel Luke Goodrich.
**_Press Coverage:_**
AP Reports
Seattle Times Reports
_One Minute Lawyer_
Alliance Alert
The Seattle Times
Everyday Olympia
###
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PFLI PharmAid Center
pfli at pfli.org <mailto:pfli at pfli.org>
PO Box 1281
Powell, OH 43065-1281 USA
800-227-8359
www.pfli.org
<http://www.pfli.org/shop/contents/en-us/d4.html>*
<http://www.pfli.org/shop/contents/en-us/d4.html>DONATE TODAY....PFLI is
relying on /you/ <http://www.pfli.org/shop/contents/en-us/d4.html>*
PFLI supports pharmacist rights of conscience NOT to be forced to
dispense or counsel for chemicals which violate their sincerely held
religious, moral or ethical beliefs. For more info see:
http://www.pfli.org/main.php?pfli=conscienceclausefaq
*** PFLI is the only pharmacy association which is exclusively pro-life.
It represents thousands of pharmacists and many lay supporters
in the USA, Canada and all around the globe. For membership info, key
PFLI texts, PFLI archives, late-breaking news, abridged newsletter excerpts
or general information, visit the PFLI web site at http://www.pfli.org.
Or e-mail us at mailto:pfli at pfli.org.
*** We do NOT send out SPAM. To subscribe to PharmFacts E-News, just
send an e-mail with the word
"subscribe" in the subject area or better yet, just enroll right from
our main news page at
http://www.pfli.org; to cease your subscription [although we can't
imagine anyone would!] self-manage your account at:
http://pfli.org/mailman/listinfo/pflienews_pfli.org
*** You may contact PFLI at any/all of the following: Pharmacists For
Life International,
PO Box 1281, Powell, OH 43065-1281 USA, 1-800-227-8359 [US & Canada only],
+1-740-881-5520 [voice] or +1-740-206-1260 [fax]; e-mail us at
mailto:pfli at pfli.org.
*** You can order our publications as well as begin/renew your
membership or donate right on our
secure website at http://www.pfli.org/shop <http://www.pfli.org>. Click
on the "PFLI Store" link on the toolbar and
follow the prompts! There you can also donate to PFLI as well as
purchase a wide range of publications.
* *
------------------------------------------------------------------------
avast! Antivirus <http://www.avast.com>: Inbound message clean.
Virus Database (VPS): 100212-0, 02/12/2010
Tested on: 2/12/2010 9:30:47 AM
avast! - copyright (c) 1988-2010 ALWIL Software.
--
--
--
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://fast21.fastdomain.com/pipermail/pflienews_pfli.org/attachments/20100707/c69b3527/attachment-0001.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 78028 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://fast21.fastdomain.com/pipermail/pflienews_pfli.org/attachments/20100707/c69b3527/attachment-0004.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 1995 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://fast21.fastdomain.com/pipermail/pflienews_pfli.org/attachments/20100707/c69b3527/attachment-0003.jpe>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: moz-screenshot-1.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 1369 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://fast21.fastdomain.com/pipermail/pflienews_pfli.org/attachments/20100707/c69b3527/attachment-0005.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 1995 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://fast21.fastdomain.com/pipermail/pflienews_pfli.org/attachments/20100707/c69b3527/attachment-0004.jpe>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 11831 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://fast21.fastdomain.com/pipermail/pflienews_pfli.org/attachments/20100707/c69b3527/attachment-0006.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 11831 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://fast21.fastdomain.com/pipermail/pflienews_pfli.org/attachments/20100707/c69b3527/attachment-0005.jpe>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: bho_pervertedscience.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 11831 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://fast21.fastdomain.com/pipermail/pflienews_pfli.org/attachments/20100707/c69b3527/attachment-0007.jpg>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: pfli.vcf
Type: text/x-vcard
Size: 330 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://fast21.fastdomain.com/pipermail/pflienews_pfli.org/attachments/20100707/c69b3527/attachment-0001.vcf>
More information about the PFLIENews
mailing list