The Supreme Court announced Tuesday that it will not hear the case of Stormans v. Wiesmans. The case originated in Washington state when women complained 10 years ago that pharmacists at a Ralph’s Thriftway in Olympia refused to fill prescriptions they had for Plan B, birth control for emergency use after unprotected sex. The complaints grew into protests and a boycott.
At the time, the rules allowed pharmacists in Washington to refuse for religious reasons to stock or dispense a medication as long as they referred patients to another pharmacy that would sell the product. But in 2007, the state—specifically the Washington Pharmacy Quality Assurance Commission—set forth regulations guaranteeing people access to medications. A pharmacist could refuse to dispense medication on grounds of conscience, but only if another pharmacist at the same pharmacy was available to provide it.
The rules didn’t stop the owners from refusing to fill prescriptions. The store’s owners said that even keeping Plan B in inventory violated their religious freedom. A federal district court agreed. But a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed. It was that decision the Supreme Court refused to review. Rachel Le Corte reports:
"Patients should know that when they need medication, they won't be refused based on the personal views of a particular pharmacy owner," Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson said]. "The appeals court ruling upheld today protects that principle."
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas said they would have heard the appeal.
Calling the court's action an "ominous sign," Alito wrote a stinging 15-page dissent for the three dissenting justices. "If this is a sign of how religious liberty claims will be treated in the years ahead, those who value religious freedom have cause for great concern," he wrote.
Since 2006 for adults and 2013 for minors, emergency contraception has been available to women without prescription thanks to the Federal Drug Administration, although right-wingers have made all kinds of attempts to implement restrictions at the state level. Foes of Plan B have argued falsely that it is an abortion drug. But it only works to prevent pregnancy, and not if a woman has already become pregnant.