The assault on birth control hits Minnesota
At least two women in Minnesota have been turned down by pharmacists opposed to birth control.
Pathetic.
Birth control is not a controversial issue. Neither is sex outside of marriage. Almost everyone uses birth control. As for the abstinence brigade, ye shall know them by their leaders...
Get with the program, pharmacists. If you didn't want to dispense (proscribed, legal, ordinary, commonly-used) drugs, you shouldn't have gone to pharmacy school.
We live in a pluralistic society. That's one of our strengths. Not everyone agrees with everyone else, but everyone has to get along with each other. If you work in the public's service, you have to serve the public. All the public.
posted by Luke Francl @ 10:25 PM |
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17 Comments:
This infiriates me on so many levels.First, where do they get off trying to enforce their moral values on me. Second, birth control pills are routinely used to treat meical conditions as well as to prevent pregnancy. I would be pissed if some pharm. denied me my prescription for a "moral reason", like morality has anything to do with polycystic ovary syndrome, endometriosis,fibroids,hrt during menopause, extreme cases of anemia, etc.
I was just about to blog about this, and say exactly the same thing. Although probably not so calmly as Luke.
WTF? What next - are pilots going to refuse to fly a plane if there's an atheist on board? Is a fireman going to refuse rescuing a single mother or a gay dad?
If you can't handle the responsibilties of doing your job you signed up for then get the hell out of the pharmacy business and work in a church.
But what can we do as consumers to show our disapproval of this business practice?
I'm figuring that a little over half the country disagrees with the actions these "activist pharmacists" take, perhaps half the consumers in the country would have some sway with Snyder's Pharmacy. Perhaps the drug store chains won't like their pharmacists pissing off half of their business.
Morals trump everything with individuals like this, except for money (why do you think they became pharmacists in the first place, because they like working with pills?). This is commerce and there are established practices that we can all participate in that ensure that the customer remains always right.
"At Snyders, the pharmacy is located at the center of the operation, "not next to the produce department or the tire section." Pharmacy sales account for over 60% of total store sales at Snyders. With this high percentage of sales, the pharmacy department and our pharmacy patients are our main focus."
I just wish there was something we could do. Hmm.
Snyders
Corporate Headquarters
14525 Highway 7
Minnetonka, MN 55345
Phone: 952-935-5441
Fax: 952-936-2512
Sounds like some rogue pharmacists at the two places (Pamida and Snyders) who don't take their professional obligations very seriously.
Far more problematic is the corporate policy of a place like WalMart, which refuses to even stock emergency contraceptives in any of its stores. A peek at the WalMart pharmacy "women's health" section of their website contains no references whatsoever to any contraceptive product. If you were to rely on their purported version of reproductive health, Margaret Sanger never existed. Query how much longer WalMart is going to offer birth control of any sort.
And remember, the Strib story isn't about emergency contraception, it's about birth control that has been legal for fifty years in this country.
Agreed. Snyders is on record as firing pharamicists who do not do their jobs. They should be encouraged, not boycotted.
Now Walmart I agree with sending a message to, and not just because of the BC thing. They just really annoy me.
Boycotting is not necessarily the answer, but making sure Snyders hear you is. Even though they fired that nut Nueson, they are under no obligation to do so in this instance. The fear being that a few rogue pharmacists will embolden others.
Reading the Strib article carefully it appears Snyders is more concerned about the incident than Pamida. At least Snyders had an excuse (new employee), while Pamida has a policy that allows pharmacists to with hold prescribed drugs.
My suggestion is to put some pressure on Pamida, or at least the local Pamida store owners. Here are the Pamida stores in Minnesota: (most of them are outstate:)
Hwy 169 South/P.O. Box 348
Aitkin, Minnesota 56431 phone : (218) 9272012
Pharmacy : YES
200 Paul Bunyan Dr./P.O. Box 1214
Bemidji, Minnesota 56601 phone : (218) 7514521
Pharmacy : YES
635 Marin Ave/P.O. Box 575
Crookston, Minnesota 56716 phone : 2182812241
Pharmacy : YES
421 Gateway Dr. NE
East Grand Forks, Minnesota 56721 phone : 2187731130
Pharmacy : YES
115 E. Chapman
Ely, Minnesota 55731 phone : 218-365-4700
Pharmacy : YES
226 E. Lincoln/P.O. Box 198
Fergus Falls, Minnesota 56538 phone : (218) 7365448
Pharmacy : YES
3225 10th St. East
Glencoe, Minnesota 55336 phone : (320) 8646005
Pharmacy : YES
710 County Road 21 S/P.O. Box 69
Glenwood, Minnesota 56334 phone : (320) 6343570
Pharmacy : YES
975 East Frontage Rd.
Litchfield, Minnesota 55355 phone : (320) 6937263
Pharmacy : YES
Hwy 75 & I-90/P.O. Box 958
Luverne, Minnesota 56156 phone : 5072831965
Pharmacy : YES
340 South Hwy 65
Mora, Minnesota 55051 phone : 3206795115
Pharmacy : YES
106 East Hwy. 28 & 59
Morris, Minnesota 56267 phone : (320) 5892264
Pharmacy : YES
1103 East 1st Street/P.O. Box 191
Park Rapids, Minnesota 56470 phone : 2187329715
Pharmacy : YES
300 Jake St S.E./P.O. Box 10
Perham, Minnesota 56573 phone : (218) 3467750
Pharmacy : YES
100 Evergreen Square /P.O. Box 138
Pine City, Minnesota 55063 phone : 3206296773
Pharmacy : YES
1002 7th Street SE/P.O. Box 705
Pipestone, Minnesota 56164 phone : (507) 8256501
Pharmacy : YES
705 Northland Drive
Princeton, Minnesota 55371 phone : (763) 3899656
Pharmacy : YES
Hwy 11 West/P.O. Box 340
Roseau, Minnesota 56751 phone : 218-463-2034
Pharmacy : YES
301 1st Ave. South
St. James, Minnesota 56081 phone : (507) 3753188
Pharmacy : YES
1845 Hwy 59 South
Thief River Falls, Minnesota 56701 phone : 2186814741
Pharmacy : YES
801 North Jefferson/P.O. Box 88
Wadena, Minnesota 56482 phone : (218) 6313320
Pharmacy : YES
2155 1st Avenue/P.O. Box 308
Windom, Minnesota 56101 phone : 5078315470
Pharmacy : YES
Yes, I was confused as to the fact that the most recent incident occured at Pamida and not Snyders. Thanks.
Morons,
All of you. "Let's write letters!" Who cares, they aren't making anything on your medicare lithium perscriptions anyway.
You want to hurt a business, use your checkbook, don't shop there. Someone else like it, want to use it, what's it to you?
You don't have a right to not be inconvenienced. If you go to a restaurant and it doesn't have lactose free - fair trade - soy burgers, what are you gonna do? Write a letter or go somewhere else?
Same thing, avoid businesses you don't like, but stop telling other people how to run their businesses. It makes you all sound preachy and its just plain getting old.
-Censored
I'm starting to think that Censored is Mr. Sticks' less articulate, less charming twin brother.
Censored:
Starting your comment with "Morons, all of you" is going to get you deleted quick.
It isn't that they don't have the product, censored...But that should be obvious to someone as smart and pithy as you.
It is that they have it, but won't sell it. Even more, it is that they will not release the prescription once they have it. They simply need to inform the public that they are a "faith-based" pharmacy or some such nonsense. Also, if they take insurance or medicaid money, they need to fill the prescriptions.
Beyond that, I kind of agree that there probably isn't much to do except go else where. The problem is probably self correcting. They will be out of a job soon.
Great post and discussion here. I, too, posted a rant on my blog about this news. It is senseless to think (like these pharmacists did) that they can use their job as a soapbox for their moral beliefs. Stories like this will get them blacklisted, so to speak, within their chosen profession. It's simple - keep religion out of the workplace unless you work in a church.
http://sorenson.blogspot.com
Friend of mine had the very excellent idea that some bad-ass dyke pharmacists should start refusing to dispense Viagra based on conscience.
Seriously, why is it that men get to buy piles of condoms and boner-inducing medicines with no questions asked, whereas women get treated like whores by these "conscience" plagued pharmacists?
To be fastened to a pair of underwear:
Get your Clause
Out of My Drawers
(Sounds better if you say it out loud).
We're going to be working on some demonstration ideas at Lyle's tonight.
Somethins wrong with the world today.........I KNOW WHAT IT IS
I agree with the one who said don't like it don't go there but how sad that this discussion is even taking place.Children are Gods blessings for normal humans... Sex before marriage is a SIN, homosexuality is BLASPHEMY BEFORE GOD, ABORTION in any form is a sin..... the only ones i don't feel sorry for are the innocent children who will make it to heaven unlike ____..... The world really is going to Hell in a handbasket
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