Board reverses ruling on Plan B

KENT, Wash. – Druggists’ personal objections should not stand in the way of a patient seeking emergency contraception, state pharmacy regulators decided Thursday.

The decision is a reversal for the state Board of Pharmacy, which has been in a political tug-of-war since it declared pharmacists might be able to deny prescriptions for personal reasons.

The seven-member Pharmacy Board adopted the new proposal – developed and pushed by Gov. Chris Gregoire – in a lopsided vote Thursday, with only Seattle pharmacist Donna Dockter dissenting.

Women’s advocates, who worked out the compromise with Gregoire and the Washington State Pharmacy Association, were elated by the vote.

“It’s been really challenging for all of us, but we really are pleased with the results,” said Nancy Sapiro, a lawyer for the Northwest Women’s Law Center.

The Pharmacy Board’s ruling is wrapped up in the controversy over emergency contraception, the “morning-after” birth control pill that dramatically cuts the chances of pregnancy if taken within a few days of sex.

The pill, a heavier dose of a drug used in many regular birth-control pills, is sold commercially as Plan B.

Plan B is not an abortion pill. If a woman is pregnant, the pill will have no effect. The earlier that a woman takes the pill after unprotected sex, the more effective the pill is.

However, some people who oppose the pill believe its interference with a potential pregnancy is tantamount to abortion.

C.J. Kahler, a Sammamish pharmacist and former state pharmacy association president, said druggists’ rights to religious freedom should shield them from dispensing the pill if they oppose it.

The rule adopted Thursday essentially told pharmacists such as Kahler to “stuff my conscience,” he said after the meeting.

Thursday’s compromise rule declares that pharmacists “have a duty to dispense lawfully prescribed … drugs or devices.” The measure lists exceptions, but a druggist’s personal beliefs are not included.

The vote is not the ultimate word on the issue, but it goes a long way toward settling a contentious social and ethical issue that has roiled the state for months.

The Pharmacy Board still must grant final approval to the language, which could be amended.

That action will likely come near the end of this year, spokesman Steve Saxe said.