Birth control called ‘a right;’ Presbyterians urged to support access as a ‘societal responsibility’
By Craig M. Kibler, Staff Writer, June 29, 2007
The Washington Office of the Presbyterian Church (USA) is urging Presbyterians across the country to support birth control because it “is a right and its provision is a societal responsibility.”
In a recent “Witness in Washington” e-mail alert sent to Presbyterians across the United States, the Washington Office urges support for new legislation in Congress (HR 2596) that “will establish certain duties for pharmacies to ensure provision of Food and Drug Administration-approved contraception.”
Each year, the e-mail alert states, “3,000,000 pregnancies, nearly half of all pregnancies, in the United States are unintended, and nearly half of unintended pregnancies end in abortion. Women rely on prescription contraceptives for a range of medical purposes in addition to birth control, such as regulation of cycles and endometriosis.”
“To achieve equality,” the Washington Office states that “women must have access to birth control.”
Access to birth control, according to the e-mail alert, is “a core value related to independence and freedom,” quoting Celinda Lake, president of the Lake Research Partners polling firm.
In urging Presbyterians to contact their elected representatives in Congress to support the proposed legislation, the Washington Office criticizes pharmacists who have refused to fill prescriptions for contraceptives.
Pharmacists refuse to sell contraceptives
Reports of pharmacists refusing to sell contraceptives, the e-mail alert states, “have surfaced in states across the nation, including Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Since emergency contraception has become available without a prescription for individuals 18 and over, reports of refusals to provide non-prescription emergency contraception have also been reported.”
“Access to legal contraception,” the Washington Office states, “is a protected fundamental right in the United States and should not be impeded by an individual’s personal beliefs.”
The full text of the “Witness in Washington” e-mail alert is as follows:
“Since the PCUS Assembly of 1960, the General Assemblies have held that access to the means of birth control is a right and its provision is a societal responsibility. The 1959 and 1962 UPCUSA Assemblies called for the repeal of all laws forbidding the sale of contraceptives.
“HR 2596 is a new bill, introduced on June 6, 2007, which will establish certain duties for pharmacies to ensure provision of Food and Drug Administration-approved contraception. Its primary sponsor is Rep. Carolyn Maloney, a Presbyterian from New York.
“Each year, 3,000,000 pregnancies, nearly half of all pregnancies, in the United States are unintended, and nearly half of unintended pregnancies end in abortion. Women rely on prescription contraceptives for a range of medical purposes in addition to birth control, such as regulation of cycles and endometriosis.
“The Food and Drug Administration has declared emergency contraception to be safe and effective in preventing unintended pregnancy and has approved over-the-counter access to the emergency contraceptive Plan B for adults. If taken soon after unprotected sex or primary contraceptive failure, emergency contraception can significantly reduce a woman’s chance of unintended pregnancy and, therefore, the need for abortion.
“Emergency contraception works like other hormonal birth control. It does not harm or terminate an already-established pregnancy. Access to legal contraception is a protected fundamental right in the United States and should not be impeded by an individual’s personal beliefs.
“In 1965, the Supreme Court ruled in Griswold v. Connecticut that Americans had the right to use contraceptives, and recent polls show that 92 percent of Americans strongly support broad access to birth control, said Celinda Lake, president of Lake Research Partners polling firm.
“It’s a core value related to independence and freedom.” To achieve equality, women must have access to birth control. “Reports of pharmacists refusing to fill prescriptions for contraceptives, including emergency contraceptives, have surfaced in states across the nation, including Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Since emergency contraception has become available without a prescription for individuals 18 and over, reports of refusals to provide non-prescription emergency contraception have also been reported.
“HR 2596 would amend the Public Health Service Act to include a stipulation that pharmacies receiving Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs or devices in interstate commerce shall maintain compliance with the following:
(1) If a customer requests a contraceptive that is in stock, the pharmacy shall ensure that the contraceptive is provided to the customer without delay.
(2) If a customer requests a contraceptive that is not in stock and the pharmacy in the normal course of business stocks contraception, the pharmacy shall immediately inform the customer that the contraceptive is not in stock and without delay offer the customer the following options:
- a. through a referral or transfer after helping to locate a pharmacy of the customer’s choice or the closest pharmacy confirmed to have the contraceptive in stock.
- b. If the customer prefers for the pharmacy to order the contraceptive, the pharmacy shall obtain the contraceptive under the pharmacy’s standard procedure for expedited ordering of medication and notify the customer when the contraceptive arrives.
“The pharmacy shall ensure that its employees do not intimidate, threaten, or harass customers in the delivery of services relating to a request for contraception; interfere with or obstruct the delivery of services relating to a request for contraception; intentionally misrepresent or deceive customers about the availability of contraception or its mechanism of action; breach medical confidentiality with respect to a request for contraception or threaten to breach such confidentiality; or refuse to return a valid, lawful prescription for contraception upon customer request.
“A pharmacy can refuse to fill a prescription contraceptive to a customer:
- “If it is unlawful to dispense the contraceptive to the customer without a valid, lawful prescription and no such prescription is presented.
- “If the customer is unable to pay for the contraceptive.
- “If the employee of the pharmacy refuses to provide the contraceptive on the basis of a professional clinical judgment.”
- “However, any standard under title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 should not be pre-empted.”
Craig M. Kibler is the Director of Publications for the Presbyterian Lay Committee and Executive Editor of The Layman and The Layman Online. He can be reached at cmkibler@www.layman.org.