Prescribed

Walgreen's has put four pharmacists on unpaid leave in the St. Louis area in Illinois for refusing to fill prescriptions based on moral conflicts. This is a deep contrast from Target's recent policy that would allow their pharmacists to deny women who have prescriptions for sexual-health medications, including everything from birth control to morning-after contraceptives. Walgreen's has a different policy- one which states that the pharmacist may choose not to fill a prescription unless state law dictates otherwise:

The four cited religious or moral objections to filling prescriptions for the morning-after pill and "have said they would like to maintain their right to refuse to dispense, and in Illinois that is not an option," Walgreen spokeswoman Tiffani Bruce said.

A rule imposed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich in April requires Illinois pharmacies that sell contraceptives approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to fill prescriptions for emergency birth control. Pharmacies that do not fill prescriptions for any type of contraception are not required to follow the rule.

Ed Martin, an attorney for the pharmacists, on Tuesday called the discipline "pretty disturbing" and said they would consider legal action if Walgreen doesn't reconsider.

At least six other pharmacists have sued over the rule, claiming it forces them to violate their religious beliefs. Many of those lawsuits were filed by Americans United for Life, the Chicago public interest law firm with which Martin is affiliated.

The licenses of both a pharmacy and that store's chief pharmacist could be revoked if they don't comply with the Illinois rule, Bruce said.

Walgreen, based in Deerfield, Ill., put the four on leave Monday, Bruce said. She would not identify them. They will remain on unpaid leave "until they either decide to abide by Illinois law or relocate to another state" without such a rule or law. For example, she said, the company would be willing to help them get licensed in Missouri and they could work for Walgreen there.

Walgreen policy says pharmacists can refuse to fill prescriptions to which they are morally opposed — except where state law prohibits — but they must take steps to have the prescription filled by another pharmacist or store, Bruce said.

This is a thorny question, but there are telling indicators in this story. First: note the numbers of pharmacists said to have already violated this state law or who have filed lawsuits against it. The fact is that the cultural conservative movement has found an inroad to enact their activist ideologies. They cannot broach scientists or doctors, they can't push through the health care systems or drug companies, or even the FDA, to some extent, to enable their villification of contraception [and yes- that means their villification of women's sexual health. They are the same thing here].

So they've begun a mini-movement based in the organizations of pharamcists around the world. They're able to find sympathetic pharmacists who have varying degrees of power and influence, and they've "Created" the resemblance of a grass-roots movement. It is not, however, grassroots- it's as calculated as anything.

As states and corporations are faced with these issues, policy is being made on a regional, sometimes conflicting, basis. The goal for the cultural conservative movement is to divide the population, carve it up, and enact policy in these ways that will disenable anything other than their ideology. Corporations need to state clearly their policy on this matter- now- enabling the public to make this personal choice with some clarity. But states have to deal with this issue head-on as well. Many states already are. But the dabate must be clear and public- this underhanded attempt to simply levie your weight with a false grass-roots effort is very damaging, and seriously puts many peoples' health at risk- and many of them may never know it.