LEGAL ACCESS TO PRESCRIPTIONS SHOULD BE A GIVEN

 HARRISBURG, DEC. 6 – State Sen. Connie Williams joined state Rep. Dan Frankel (D-Allegheny) during a Capitol news conference today to unveil legislation that they are introducing in the Senate and in the House of Representatives that would guarantee Pennsylvanians’ access to legally-valid prescription medications.

 Legislation was needed, the legislators said, because of a growing trend of pharmacists refusing to fill or transfer prescriptions because of their personal beliefs. A recent ’60 Minutes’ illustrated the issue.

 “It should be simple. If a doctor writes a prescription for medication you should be able to go to any pharmacy and have that prescription filled,” Williams said. “The only question your pharmacist should ask or statement the pharmacist should make is whether the prescription would negatively interact with other medication that you are taking. Pharmacists should not be permitted to interfere in the doctor-patient relationship.”

 The legislation (H.B. 2217 in the House and a bill being circulated for co-sponsorship in the Senate) would require pharmacies in Pennsylvania to dispense, order or transfer any customer’s legal prescriptions, including contraceptives. If a pharmacist refuses to comply, the pharmacy would be required to have another pharmacist who is employed there fulfill those duties. Additionally, pharmacists with personal objections would be banned from harassing, humiliating or intentionally violating the confidentiality of customers seeking to fill prescriptions.

 Several speakers told stories of pharmacists who refused to fill prescriptions for contraception or emergency contraception (a higher dose of the birth control pill that prevents a pregnancy, but will not cause a fetus to abort), because of their personal beliefs. Additionally, the results of a Planned Parenthood survey were offered. The survey showed that statewide, 43 percent of pharmacies don’t stock emergency contraception and 18 percent overall said they wouldn’t order it.

 The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1965 that constitutional guarantees of privacy protect Americans’ ability to purchase birth control.

 “Pharmacists were not hired to be psychological counselors or to teach or judge morality,” Williams said. “A pharmacist’s job is to dispense prescription medications and information on how to take it. Filling all legally-valid prescriptions should not be an ethical or moral problem for any pharmacist.”

 “It is ridiculous that we continue to hear stories of women who are denied access to the prescription medications that they are legally entitled to,” Williams said. “Yet once again, here we stand having to legislate what seems to be commonsense and fair.”

 In June, the American Medical Association passed a resolution endorsing federal and state legislation that would require pharmacies to fill all legally-valid prescriptions. Legislation similar to Williams’ and Frankel’s bills has been introduced in several states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

 “As trusted health-care providers, pharmacists have an ethical and professional responsibility to provide medication that doctors believe is medically necessary for their patients’ health and well-being. I firmly believe that one’s personal beliefs should not interfere with the doctor-patient relationship,” Frankel said.