AU brief rebukes Ralph’s pharmacy religious claim

author : Americans United for Separation of Church and State topic : Americans United for Separation of Church and State | Attorneys with Americans United

by Americans United for Separation of Church and State

A Washington State Board of Pharmacy regulation that requires pharmacies to dispense all medications in a timely manner does not trample on religious freedom rights and should be upheld, Americans United for Separation of Church and State has told a federal appeals court.

Attorneys with Americans United filed a friend-of-the-court brief in a case pending before the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. In the brief, AU asks the appellate panel to send the decision back to the district court for consideration.

“Allowing pharmacists to put their religious beliefs between doctors and patients is a prescription for disaster,” said Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “These regulations are simply designed to make sure that pharmacists do the job they are paid to do.”

The Washington pharmacy board acted after several incidents came to light in Washington and other states of pharmacists refusing to fill prescriptions for birth control pills, emergency contraception and other medications.

In its brief, AU notes that the state’s pharmacy regulations accommodate objecting pharmacists. A pharmacist can, for example, pass a prescription along to a colleague at the same store.

Regulations Ensuring Patient Access To Medication Do Not Single Out Religious Belief

The AU brief asserts that the regulation does not single out religious beliefs, noting that some pharmacists have refused to fill prescriptions for reasons that have nothing to do with religion. Requiring pharmacies to fill prescriptions in a timely manner is a neutral regulation that does not single out religious beliefs for negative treatment, AU says.

“Given the Board’s broad intent to preclude all personal objections from impeding access to medications, it is no surprise that the regulations do not target religious conduct for unfavorable treatment,” reads the brief. “A pharmacy owner whose personal objection to dispensing a drug is based on his religion is treated no differently than a pharmacy owner whose personal objection to dispensing is motivated by secular concerns.”

Americans United filed the brief in the Stormans, Inc. v. Selecky case in conjunction with the American Humanist Association.

Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.

Local Chapter Formed

Americans United for Separation of Church and State has formed the South Sound Chapter in Olympia.

Americans United for Separation of Church and State is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization, founded in 1947 by a broad coalition of religious, educational and civic leaders. Americans United protects the separation of church and state by working on a wide range ofpressing political and social issues.

Regular meetings are held at 6:30 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month at the Olympia Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 2200 E End St NW, Olympia.

For further information, contact Dennis Mansker, president@ausouthsound.org.