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Fabens pharmacist won't fill orders for birth control pills

Diana Washington Valdez
El Paso Times

Victor Calzada / El Paso Times
Idalia Moran tried to have a prescription for birth control pills filled at the Medicine Shoppe pharmacy in Fabens but was told the pharmacy would not fill the order.

A Fabens pharmacy owner is one of hundreds of pharmacists worldwide who are refusing to dispense medically prescribed birth control pills for religious or ethical reasons.

"Since this was in the news, I've gotten calls from people who are upset with me and others who see no problem with it," said pharmacist Steve Mosher, who owns the Medicine Shoppe in Fabens. "Some people are even blaming me for teen pregnancies in Fabens."

Idalia Moran, who is staying temporarily in Fabens with her mother, said she was shocked when she tried to obtain birth control pills on Saturday at the Medicine Shoppe, the only private pharmacy in the small town east of El Paso.

"A person at the counter told me that the pharmacist wasn't going to sell them to me because it was against his religion," Moran said. "I said, 'What?', and I had to go to a Walgreens in El Paso to get them. My husband was very upset. It's stupid. What does religion have to do with my prescription?"

Mosher, a Christian, said he dispensed birth control pills until last fall, when he listened to a medical expert on a radio program who described "the pill" as an abortifacient -- a drug that destroys a fertilized egg's ability to survive in the womb.

"I had waffled over this for years, but I've since stopped dispensing them," he said. "It was also a financial issue, and I've lost a lot of business because of my conviction. I fill some prescriptions for the pill, as long as it is used for menopause or other medical reasons besides birth control. I don't carry the 'morning-after' pill or anything like that."

An organization known as Pharmacists for Life International has a Web site devoted to pharmacists in the United States, Canada and elsewhere in the world who believe as Mosher does.

The group claims to have 1,500 members.

Texas pharmacy expert Barry Coleman said the American Pharmacy Association supports the ability of pharmacists to make judgments based on personal convictions, "but it also holds the position that a pharmacist who will not fill an order should refer the patient to someone else who will. What makes me uncomfortable here is that there is just one pharmacy in Fabens, which is a long way from El Paso."

Coleman said someone who has a complaint against a pharmacist may contact the Texas state board of pharmacy, "but it is difficult to go against this because pharmacists are free to follow their beliefs."

El Paso Planned Parenthood CEO Betty Hoover said the pharmacy owner is creating a barrier for women in Fabens who lack other means to readily obtain birth control pills.

"Planned Parenthood believes everyone should have access to family planning services," Hoover said. She added that "it's unconscionable" to prevent a woman from obtaining a legal prescription for birth control.

Diana Washington Valdez may be reached at dvaldez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6140.
Copyright © 2001 El Paso Times.

Conviction.


Consequences
Suddenly, I foresee an upswing in women pharmacists. And hey, look, there might be as many as 1,500 locations where they could do good business. One wonders aloud about the possibility of getting birth control pills via an online pharmacy, sent via mail.
Let me put it this way: If I knew "John pharmacist" for 22 years and he'd built his little store up from debt to barely making it and somewhere along the way he made this judgement call and on year 22 day,46, some lady opened up a pharmacy booth knowing she'd be in debt for a decade with a little flower stall in front, I'd find reasons to get perscriptions, and flowers.

I ganked the link from susiebeeca