Could This Be True?

Via Alas, a Blog, we're alerted to the new frontier in the campaign to impose personal beliefs on perfect [female] strangers:

The birth control pill revolutionised women's health - and grew to become one of the most popular forms of family planning. But it is now under attack from pro-life groups in the US.

I found these two related passage most troubling:

Julee Lacey, a mother of two, had used the Pill for nine years when a pharmacist at her local chemist in Texas refused her prescription.

"She [the pharmacist] began to tell me she personally does not believe in birth control," says Ms Lacey.

"I was a little caught off-guard and shocked... I asked her again. She said: 'No, ma'am, I don't believe in birth control. I can't help you'...

"I really couldn't believe she had the right to withhold my medication from me," she adds.

...

This year 12 states took steps to try to introduce so-called conscience clauses. They allow pharmacists to refuse to dispense drugs, including the Pill, on moral grounds, without losing their jobs.

In Wisconsin, the mostly-Republican assembly passed the bill, only to have it vetoed by the Democratic governor.

I cannot speak for pharmacists, but when it comes to doctors: Primum Non Nocere! [In other words, what is the point of being a medical professional if you're not going to take care of your patient?]

This is why, in case you or any cognitive being on planet Earth [I'm looking at you, pharmacists who refuse to fill rx and Wisconsin assembly] weren't aware, a medical professional can never refuse treatment. If you have a moral/religious objection to said treatment, you're not obligated, nor should you be expected [if circumstances permit] to do it. What you are, most emphatically, duty bound is to insure the patient, *your patient*, has access to a physician able to render the treatment. Again, it is your obligation to make sure the patient can get the treatment, regardless of your morals/beliefs. As I mentioned before, only one thing defines the doctor-patient (and, I thought, the pharmacist-patient) relationship: the patient's needs.

Back in June, I noted that the FDA was working on proposed labeling changes for birth control pills. After reading the BBC article, I'm starting to sense a trend...a deeply troubling trend.