Judge says pro-life pharmacists’ religious liberty violated

TACOMA, Wash. — A federal judge has upheld the conscience rights of health care professionals regarding abortion-causing drugs.

Judge Ronald Leighton ruled Feb. 22 that Washington Board of Pharmacy violated the religious freedom of pro-life pharmacists by requiring them to stock and dispense pills that can cause abortions.

Ruling from Tacoma, Wash., Leighton said the pharmacy board’s 2007 rules targeted abortion-causing drugs and “conscientious objectors.” After the board drafted rules that included a conscience clause for pharmacists, Democratic Gov. Chris Gregorie protested and threatened to fire the board members, Leighton said in his 48-page opinion. 

The rules that were adopted as a result “are not neutral, and they are not generally applicable,” Leighton wrote. “They were designed instead to force religious objectors to dispense [an abortion-causing drug], and they sought to do so despite the fact that refusals to deliver for all sorts of secular reasons were permitted.

“In effect, the rules force them to choose between their religious beliefs and their livelihood.

“The facts of this case lead to the inescapable conclusion that the board’s rules discriminate [the pharmacists’] fundamental right to free exercise of religion,” Leighton said.