Targetting Target

[avram]

Target has a policy of allowing its pharmacists to refuse, on religious grounds, to fill prescriptions for “Plan B” contraceptives. Sorry about that link; the blog entry seems to have been written by somebody angered beyond the point of thinking clearly. (The pharmacists aren’t refusing because they think the customer is a sinner, but because they think the product is sinful. Get angry, sure, but don’t take it so personally.)

Anyway, for some reason this is the only such refusal Target allows. If you’re a pharmacist at Target and your religion forbids you from dispensing any other products, you’re out of luck. The legal implications of that could get interesting. And it’s yet more evidence that our culture’s seeming religious arguments are really about sex.

Planned Parenthood has a calmer press release, but it lacks the detail that Target has a special policy just for one drug.

Comments

[solarbird]

Yeah, but they also are supposed to have another pharmacist there who will fill it, and they have specific protections against the kind of ranting and abuse (et al) that you hear of most places. It's also not a new policy, afaik.

If it's symptomatic of the growing war against birth control, then I guess I can see that, but, well, I don't know that I see that. It's been too much part of the abortion wars for so long that I don't think there's a direct overlap. (Not that the fundamentalists wouldn't blur the line in a second, given the chance, but nonetheless.)

[avram]

Target’s letter says “Target has a policy that ensures a guest's prescription for emergency contraception is filled, whether at Target or at a different pharmacy”, so they might not have another pharmacist on hand who will fill it.

And the abortion wars are also about sex.

[solarbird]

And the abortion wars are also about sex.
Well, yeah. But still. There's so much worse going on, with this specific issue...

[avram]

Yeah, but most people I know don’t expect that sort of thing from Target.

[solarbird]

I'd want to know their "or another pharmacy" guidelines are. For example, if it has to be within two miles, it's annoying, but only annoying. If it can be "the next state over," then not so much.