Bitter pill to swallow

I just found out that the Washington state Board of Pharmacy wants to make changes to a rule that requires pharmacies to fill all valid prescriptions, including birth control and emergency contraception. The state is now seeking to delay a court case that could keep the rule intact.

This is outrageous. There were long and time-consuming public hearings surrounding the rule three years ago, and the rule has been well vetted and deemed constitutional by the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. A new rulemaking process is a waste of taxpayer money, and the delay will surely endanger patients’ rights.

The rule in question is a sensible compromise; it allows a patient’s right to their medication to be paramount while offering individual pharmacists who object to certain medications the ability to ask another pharmacist on site to fill the prescription. Why is the Board of Pharmacy backtracking on this reasonable approach when it has already invested so much time and so many resources? I think they have some explaining to do.

Mattie Orme

Spokane