Publications
The Limits of Conscientious Objection — May Pharmacists Refuse to Fill Prescriptions for Emergency Contraception?
Health policy decisions are often controversial, and the recent determination by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)not to grant over-the-counter status to the emergency contraceptive Plan B was no exception. Some physicians decried the decision as a troubling clash of science, politics, and morality. Other practitioners, citing safety, heralded the agency ‘s prudence. Public sentiment mirroredbothviews. Regardless,the decision preserved a major barrier to the acquisition of emergency contraception — the need to obtain and fill a prescription within a narrow window of efficacy. Six states have lowered that hurdle by allowing pharmacists to dispense emergency contraception without a prescription. In those states, patients can simply bypass physicians. But the FDA ‘s decision means that patients cannot avoid pharmacists. Because emergency contraception remains behind the counter, pharmacists can block access to it. And some have done just that.