Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) has introduced new legislation, The Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2005, S. 778, which is terribly important and deserves our attention and support.
As you may know, some pharmacists are refusing to fill valid doctor's prescriptions for birth control and other women's reproductive medications based on their so-called religious or moral beliefs. This can impose great hardships on women, especially those who live in smaller towns and rural areas, where alternative pharmacies are either not available or distant. Boxer's bill addresses this travesty.
From an email I received from the Senator:
The practice of denying access to prescription medication is wrong, and I hope that my legislation will help to correct this disservice.
More below the fold
Boxer nails the problem
When people go into their pharmacy with a valid prescription, they should have confidence that their prescription will be filled in a timely manner without unnecessary delay. Unfortunately, some pharmacists in the U.S. are allowing their beliefs to trump the policies of the stores they work in, and more importantly, the recommendations of the physicians who have written the prescription. If a doctor writes a prescription for birth control pills, a woman should be able to fill that prescription promptly. There have been instances where that has not been the case.
Her solution is simple:
I have introduced legislation that addresses this troubling issue directly. Pharmacy Consumer Protection Act of 2005, S. 778, would require a pharmacy that receives payments or has contracts under the medicare and medicaid programs to ensure that all valid prescriptions are filled without unnecessary
delay or interference.
Once again hooray for the fighting lady from California! Her email makes the case perfectly clear:
It is not, and never has been, the responsibility of pharmacists to decide which prescriptions patients should receive, nor when they should receive them. Their job is to follow the directives of the prescription they have received from a medical doctor. Whether it is a prescription for birth control, or a prescription for AIDS treatment, pharmacists should fill the prescription, not impose their personal beliefs in the workplace.
We need to contact our Senators to make them aware of this bill, and to urge them to support it. And while you're at it, drop a line of support to Senator Boxer, as always, fighting for us.