Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Board: Druggists can’t refuse to give Plan B

Curt Woodward Associated Press

SEATTLE – Druggists who think “morning-after” birth control pills are tantamount to abortion can’t stand in the way of a patient’s right to get a prescription, state regulators said Thursday.

In a unanimous vote, the state Board of Pharmacy ruled that drug stores have a duty to fill lawful prescriptions, regardless of an individual pharmacist’s objections to a particular medication.

The rule is a compromise worked out last year by Gov. Chris Gregoire, women’s advocates and the Washington State Pharmacy Association.

Druggists with personal objections to a drug still could have a limited escape by getting a co-worker to fill an order. But that would apply only if the patient is able to get their prescription in the same pharmacy visit.

The rule was prompted by a controversy over some pharmacists’ objections to selling emergency contraceptives, known as the morning-after pill.

Sold as Plan B, emergency contraception is a high dose of the drug found in many regular birth-control pills. It can lower the risk of pregnancy by up to 89 percent if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex.

Some critics consider the pill related to abortion, although it is different from the abortion pill RU-486 and has no effect on women who already are pregnant.