If you have been completely lost in the saga of Terry Schiavo/Michael Jackson/the Pope's last days or some other media sideshow for the last month, or perhaps in a coma, you may be unaware that pharmacists are rising up and declaring that they will no longer fill prescriptions that they don't approve of, such as birth control pills for unmarried women or so-called "Plan B" emergency contraception for anyone. Some even take your prescription hostage and refuse to transfer it to another hospital, which given the time factor involved with emergency contraception is something of a problem.
This so-called "conscience clause" got a humorous but scary workup from Daily Kos' Bob Johnson, who is OK by me because he's funny and smart, but mostly because his dog blogs under his name from time to time. But the real zinger, the commentary that most sums up exactly what is wrong with this exercise in sanctimoniousness, is to be found in the comments section, posted by Smallbottle:
Why are there no conscience clauses for Grace employees who don't want to pollute, KBR employees who don't want to cheat the taxpayer or Exxon employees who don't want to screw grandma?
I
may have no problem with birth control or morning after pills, but I do
indeed have a conscience. And it kills me, absolutely kills me, to fork
over my tax dollars to fund Bush's Bamboozlepalooza Tour on Social Security, his misbegotten Iraqi war and occupation, and frankly, his frigging electricity bill. The list doesn't end there, either.
So what makes my local pharmacist (well, not MY local pharmacist,
as the good folks in white coats at our local mom and pop pharmacy have
a big sign up letting us know they will fill our prescriptions without
judgement or hassle) so special? Where do I sign up to become a
conscientious objector to funding our government's obscene foreign
policy? Can I opt out of paying for Bamboozlepalooza somewhere, a kind
of taxpayer dollars "do not call" list?
And will the Pharmacists for Life sign on to support my consicence clause?
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