Walgreens sued for firing workers over pill

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. — The American Center for Law and Justice is suing Walgreens after the company fired four pharmacists who refused to dispense the “morning-after” pill because of religious objections. The lawsuits were filed in Edwardsville, Ill., Jan. 27 on behalf of the four pharmacists, who had been placed on indefinite unpaid leave Nov. 28, 2005. All four were employees of Walgreens stores in Illinois suburbs east of St. Louis.

Illinois is the only state to have a rule requiring pharmacists to dispense the pill. Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, issued an executive order last year requiring all pharmacies in Illinois that carry birth-control pills to also fill prescriptions for the “morning-after” pill, which is basically a heavier dose of birth-control pills. Under the regimen, a woman takes two pills within 72 hours of sexual intercourse and another dose 12 hours later.