WASHINGTON — A family-owned pharmacy and two female pharmacists asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 4 to stop a new Washington State law that would force them to sell abortion-inducing drugs in violation of their religious beliefs. The Washington law is the only one of its kind in the country and has been condemned by the American Pharmacists Association as “radical” and “grossly out of step with state regulatory practice.”
Margo Thelen, Rhonda Mesler and the Stormans family have worked in the pharmacy profession for more than 70 years. When a customer requests an abortion-inducing drug, they refer the customer to 1 of more than 30 pharmacies within five miles that willingly sell the drugs. This has been standard pharmacy practice for decades and has been allowed.
But in 2007, Washington adopted a new law making referrals for reasons of conscience illegal. The law leaves pharmacies free to refer patients elsewhere for a wide variety of reasons related to business, economics and convenience — but not for reasons of conscience. Because of the law, Thelen lost her job, Mesler was threatened with losing hers and the Stormans face the loss of their pharmacy license.
Luke Goodrich, deputy general counsel of The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, said, “It is absurd to force a pharmacy to sell drugs against their conscience when there are over 30 pharmacies within five miles that already sell the exact same drugs.”
The Supreme Court will likely consider whether to take the appeal in March 2016.
(Becket Fund)
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