Jackson, Wyo. – The Wyoming Pharmacy Board will consider a rule change that would allow pharmacists to refuse to fill prescriptions they find morally objectionable, so long as they provide the patient with an alternative method of filling the prescription.
The issue has gained attention as some pharmacists throughout the country have refused to fill prescriptions for the morning-after pill, which some view as a means of nonsurgical abortion. Other pharmacists have refused to fill prescriptions for birth-control pills.
Three states have laws requiring pharmacists to fill all valid prescriptions, while four states have laws allowing pharmacists to refuse some prescriptions for personal reasons. At least a dozen other states are considering legislation one way or the other.
Pharmacists already are allowed to intervene if they think a prescription may be harmful – if they fear a patient is being over medicated, for example, or if they know of another medication the patient is taking that might cause a bad reaction. But Wyoming law says nothing about refusing to fill prescriptions for personal reasons.
“Wyoming’s laws are silent,” said Jim Carder, executive director of the pharmacy board.
Lara Azar, spokeswoman for Gov. Dave Freudenthal, said the governor had not been made aware of the proposal.
“But, as a matter of course, pharmacies can already refuse to sell drugs they don’t want to sell,” she said. “As for specifics, he will be taking a look at the rules when they get to him.” The proposed rule change, to be discussed at the board’s Oct. 4-5 meeting in Jackson, would allow Wyoming pharmacists to refuse to fill prescriptions, but only if they then told patients where they could get the prescription filled.
“We thought we were doing something to try and protect the patient,” Carder said. “We didn’t want to leave the patient high and dry.”
Elaine Kuhr, director of Right to Life Teton County, said people should have a right to refuse to do something they think might result in an abortion.
“Right-to-lifers in general are in full support of any rule or law that would protect such a conscience clause for any medical personnel, including for pharmacists,” Kuhr said.
But some pharmacists object to the rule, saying it might prevent some patients from getting the medication they need, putting the pharmacist in the middle of the doctor-patient relationship.
“(A pharmacist) may not believe in birth control or mental issues, but a customer sees a physician to get better, and that’s between them and the physician,” said John Crook, owner of Stone Drug in Jackson.
Daniel Kessler, spokesman for Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, said his group opposed the rule change.
“If a woman and her health-care provider decide that a certain medication like birth control is right for her, it is not appropriate for a pharmacist to second-guess that judgment for personal reasons,” Kessler said. “That is exactly what this regulation allows for.”
Some said that was a particular concern in rural areas, where one pharmacist’s refusal to fill a prescription might result in an onerous road trip.
