Statement of Manuel Rodriguez, RPh
Re: NM Board of Pharmacy Hearing 16 Jan 2007
On January 16, 2007 I, Manuel Rodriguez, was summoned to answer to a complaint regarding my practice of Pharmacy. The complaint stated that there might be grounds upon which I might be found guilty of gross immorality or dishonorable or unprofessional conduct as defined by regulation of the Board of Pharmacy.
I proceeded to tell the Board that these terms of behavior as stated in the statues did not apply to me. I’m very aware that my behavior, not only represents me, but those other pharmacists that believe as I do, that life from the moment of conception must be protected.
The difficulty arose, when a woman patient came in the pharmacy to purchase ORAL CONTRACEPTIVES, ALSO KNOWN AS BIRTH CONTROL PILLS, which as a Pro-Life Pharmacist, I will not sell. In the course of the consultation, she revealed that she took the medication not for contraception, but for other medical purposes. After a slight hesitation on my part and because I could tell that she was of age to make her own decision about such drugs, I told her I would prepare her prescription. To make sure she was truthful when she said she took these drugs for other than contraception, I asked her two questions She said “No,” to both questions and I was satisfied. When I asked her, it did not appear that she was offended. But she was offended as she alleged in her testimony as the hearing proceeded. But this was the only way that I could make sure her body would not abort a life within her. As I counseled her, she gave answers and I was satisfied with them professionally, and I went ahead and dispensed the medication.
In retrospect, when I counseled her, I should have been more careful in safeguarding her sensibilities. In our Pro-Life work, that is why we understand that we must love them both, the mother and the child.
In the pharmacy standard reference text called the USPDI, DRUG INFORMATION FOR THE HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL, under the Mode of Action/Effect section, it states, the two drugs estrogen and progestin together act in a synergestic manner to suppress the luteinizing hormone release and the LH surge which is necessary for ovulation. The two hormones also blunt or suppress the Follicle Stimulating (FSH) Hormone which prevents the selection and maturation of the dominant follicle. “OTHER CONTRIBUTING EFFECTS INCLUDE DELAYED MATURATION OF THE ENDOMETRIUM WHICH PREVENTS IMPLANTATION OF OVA.”
Stated in recognizable terms, oral contraceptives can cause the unnatural effect in a woman’s fertility cycle that will end a life within her.
These drugs prevent nidation, especially in women who take these drugs on a continual basis. Nidation is attachment of the fertilized egg to the lining of the womb, where the tiny BABY gets its nutrition and grows. Unable to get the nutrition the BABY needs for growth and development, it dies and is aborted. This has been termed CHEMICAL ABORTION, AND NOW AND IN THE FUTURE THIS WILL BE THE WAY MOST BABIES WILL BE ABORTED. The mother does not know she has aborted her baby, but this “SILENT ABORTION”, IS ABORTION NON THE LESS. Statistically Birth Control Drugs will cause an abortion every 3rd cycle of the women’s body. “Doing the numbers,” BCP’s give a range of between 600,000 to 3 million of chemical abortions per year in the USA(1). Physicians and pharmacists ignore these facts; the industry does not deny these facts, but they do suppress them. Your doctor or pharmacist probably won’t tell you these facts.
Members of the NM Board of Pharmacy, some who are Pro-Life, know that these drugs can be abortifacient and thus recognize a pharmacist’s right to not sell them. We are relieved that this hearing affirmed this right and Pro-Life pharmacists, in New Mexico can continue to counsel their patient on life. This is a victory for our side. What our pharmacists need is a “Conscience Clause” in New Mexico statues, because there are no guarantees to a pharmacist's right of conscience, and the Pro-Life cause everywhere is continuously being challenged in this area.
The Board found that I “crossed the line” when I counseled the patient, and they found me guilty of unprofessional conduct. There was no mention of gross immorality or dishonorable conduct. The penalty given was a year’s suspension of my Pharmacy License, with all but 30 days held in abeyance.
I feel a personal victory, because I still believe as I do, that life must be protected and I will continue to “stand up” for life. I will never wavered in this belief and especially did I not waver in my testimony at this hearing. I was given the lightest possible penalty, and the Board of Pharmacy’s decision was not unanimous, so there are others that believe as I do. As of February 1, 2007, I have 15 days left, then I will practice my profession again.
Early on, I decided that I should not to be represented by an attorney because I felt is was a misunderstanding that could be better explained in a simple manner. But I feel I did not do the best in defending myself, especially in that I did not call those witnesses who were ready to testify on my behalf. These witnesses were very kind to have come. I feel more badly that their contribution may have been considered irrelevant, than about anything else that happened.
When the day comes for us to leave this planet, and it will come eventually to all of us, the only thing that will matter, is what we believe, what we did during our life, and who it is we are.
By Manuel Rodriguez, Rph
Belen, NM
1 February 2007
Footnotes:
Infant Homicides through Contraceptives, 2000, 4th edition. Bogomir M Kuhar, PharmD, BS Pharm, FASCP. Eternal Life Publishing, Bardstown, KY.