Ill. pharmacists sue over right to refuse

Drug Store News,  Dec 19, 2005  

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WASHINGTON -- Walgreens was charged with religious discrimination following the company's discipline of a few Illinois pharmacists who refused to fill prescriptions of the emergency contraceptive Plan B. The American Center for Law and Justice, a law firm founded by evangelist Pat Robertson that is representing three Walgreens pharmacists, filed the complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Dec. 7.

"The law in Illinois requires pharmacists to fill emergency contraception," Tiffani Bruce, Walgreens spokeswoman, told Drug Store News. "We don t have a choice in this matter. We've already had two pharmacies that have been cited, and there is discipline [for the chain] pending a review in January. ... We are placing our pharmacy at risk along with the license of our pharmacy managers."

Bruce noted that each of the pharmacists were offered employment in neighboring Missouri, where the company advocates a refuse and refer policy. "To my knowledge they haven't taken us up on that," Bruce said.

On the other side of the issue, the activist organization Planned Parenthood organized a protest of Target pharmacies last month after a Target pharmacist in Missouri was reported to have refused a Plan B prescription.

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