Citing beliefs, pharmacist drops birth control

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Billings Gazette
BROADUS - Pharmacist John Lane believes he has a responsibility to serve humankind through his profession.

Lane, who converted to Catholicism 10 years ago, also believes the “humankind” he pledged to protect includes fertilized eggs that, because of oral contraceptives, are not able to implant in a woman’s uterus and grow into a baby.

Beginning Jan. 1, Lane will no longer dispense birth control pills to his customers in Powder River County.

In a town of 450 people, Lane’s decision will force customers to either get oral contraceptives by mail or drive 80 miles to the nearest pharmacy. Women who meet income requirements will still be able to get birth control pills through the public health nurse.
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This is truly a way of putting one’s money where their faith is. Please pray for John and his witness of faith.

You can also see John’s letter to the people of Broadus on page 10 of the December issue of the Harvest, the newspaper of the Diocese of Great Falls Billings.
 
Now THAT is intense. I am certain now that the ice has been broken many more pharmacists will come forward. Perhaps not for BC pills but at least for over the counter Plan B drugs…

I will keep this man and all the others under the pressure of the pharmaceutical industry to remain strong in their will.

Thanks for posting this 😃
 
This is great news. I hope more Pharmacists start to do this at their own privately owned pharmacies.
 
This truly is how the free market system is supposed to work. I wish him the very best. Now folks in the area who agree with him need to support his business with their patronage.

Nohome
 
originally posted by** frleo**
One More Soul has a list of NFP Doctors, but I think we could use a list of NFP Pharmacists as well.
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There is a organization of pro-life pharmacists. I believe they do not prescribe birth control.

pfli.org/
 
frleo said:
One More Soul has a list of NFP Doctors, but I think we could use a list of NFP Pharmacists as well.
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Agreed.

Ultimately, we need a list of all companies that are in line with Catholic beliefs. We have the Catholic Business Pages here, but that is businesses that want to reach Catholics. Did find my Dentist there.
 
Good stuff. I’m a pfli member and an active pharmacist of conscience… while I DO dispense ‘birth control’ I don’t dispense plan B… Birth control(hormonal ‘contraception’) is, however, abortifacient in action and gravely sinful to use. I still dispense it but use it as an opportunity to tell women about it’s abortifacient mechanism. I’ve gone to battle and won against the highest ups in Army medicine to protect my right of conscience in dispensing abortifacients such as Plan B(including 3 star general Kevin Kiley, US Army Surgeon General), and I’ve battled and won against county representatives in northern CA for these same rights before while working in the civilian world.

Eventually I may come to the point that I can no longer dispense this drug. I’ve been plagued by the ethics of it all, and I am joining the Church along with wife and 5 young children on this coming Easter Vigil(RCIA class for 6 months) because of this issue. The Roman Catholic Church is the only church that professes Christ and protects the unborn by chemical killing.

Please pray that Our Lord will continue to guide me and use me for His glory.

Aaron
CPT, USA
 
aaronlgates said:
Good stuff. I’m a pfli member and an active pharmacist of conscience… while I DO dispense ‘birth control’ I don’t dispense plan B… Birth control(hormonal ‘contraception’) is, however, abortifacient in action and gravely sinful to use. I still dispense it but use it as an opportunity to tell women about it’s abortifacient mechanism. I’ve gone to battle and won against the highest ups in Army medicine to protect my right of conscience in dispensing abortifacients such as Plan B(including 3 star general Kevin Kiley, US Army Surgeon General), and I’ve battled and won against county representatives in northern CA for these same rights before while working in the civilian world.

Eventually I may come to the point that I can no longer dispense this drug. I’ve been plagued by the ethics of it all, and I am joining the Church along with wife and 5 young children on this coming Easter Vigil(RCIA class for 6 months) because of this issue. The Roman Catholic Church is the only church that professes Christ and protects the unborn by chemical killing.

Please pray that Our Lord will continue to guide me and use me for His glory.

Aaron
CPT, USA
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I will keep you in my prayers
 
aaronlgates said:
Good stuff. I’m a pfli member and an active pharmacist of conscience… while I DO dispense ‘birth control’ I don’t dispense plan B… Birth control(hormonal ‘contraception’) is, however, abortifacient in action and gravely sinful to use. I still dispense it but use it as an opportunity to tell women about it’s abortifacient mechanism. I’ve gone to battle and won against the highest ups in Army medicine to protect my right of conscience in dispensing abortifacients such as Plan B(including 3 star general Kevin Kiley, US Army Surgeon General), and I’ve battled and won against county representatives in northern CA for these same rights before while working in the civilian world.

Eventually I may come to the point that I can no longer dispense this drug. I’ve been plagued by the ethics of it all, and I am joining the Church along with wife and 5 young children on this coming Easter Vigil(RCIA class for 6 months) because of this issue. The Roman Catholic Church is the only church that professes Christ and protects the unborn by chemical killing.

Please pray that Our Lord will continue to guide me and use me for His glory.

Aaron
CPT, USA
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Captain, what advice would you give a Catholic who was considering going to pharmacy school? I know most of the larger drug store chains do not permit their pharmacists to refuse to dispense prescriptions, or require them to refer the patient to another pharmacist who WILL dispense the medication (which… doesn’t really solve the problem). God bless you in your service to our country and in your entry into Holy Mother Church!
 
I’d say you still have options if you really want to do it… some of the incentives are gone like retail options that yield lots of income… I made 160k the year that I joined the Army, but there is no way that you could do retail and not dispense birth control… well, there is but it’s rare…

so my options if I return to civilian life is to work (name removed by moderator)atient hospital, long term care, hospice, clinical hospital pharmacist, management, etc. There still are lots of options, but the geographic flexibility isn’t there like it is with community pharmacy. Also, the quick money isn’t there.

I use dispensing birth control as an opportunity to inform the woman or husband of its abortifacient nature. Again, I am not sure how long this will pacify my conscience, as it is something that daily consumes me.

So, in summary, you can certainly still go into pharmacy, but it is a BIG issue with the birth control thing… approximately 20% of all prescriptions are for birth control. EVERYBODY is using it, and that includes ‘the faithful’. If you aren’t impacted by birth control now, you WILL BE as a pharmacist.

Aaron
 
There is a HUGE battle over this right now in WA state. There is a pharmacy in the state capital that refused to sell Plan B. As a result, NARAL and the usual suspects started protesting daily. The state pharmacy board took under consideration a proposal to mandate all pharmacies to carry it. The governor put the screws to the board members and pushed it into law. The pharmacy appealed to the courts where the battle is being waged now, and temporarily won. The judge issued an injunction so that the law can not be enforced until the trial is over. The Pharmacy board is still continuing with plans and collecting data on pharmacies so that as soon as possible they can revoke liscenese. As a result of the injunction, the legislature has taken up the issue and it is slated for this year’s docket, which will undoubtably pass with our Govenor once again leading the way.

I applaud the pharmacy in Olympia and urge all in the area who don’t already to find out which store it is and give them your business!
 
frleo said:
Billings Gazette

This is truly a way of putting one’s money where their faith is. Please pray for John and his witness of faith.

You can also see John’s letter to the people of Broadus on page 10 of the December issue of the Harvest, the newspaper of the Diocese of Great Falls Billings.
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The pharmacist is in the wrong line of work.

It’s easy to get OC by mail.

I hope he:

*gets boycottted

*goes out of business

His private personal religion has nothing to do with whether he decides to fill the prescriptions of the townpeople are prescribing for their patients. HE did not prescribe the medications; the townspeople’s health care providers did.

It’s like a Jehovah’s Witness MD refusing to prescribe a blood transfusion for his patient because HE doesn’t believe in it.

Mercifully,

*private pharmacies are disappearing and prescriptions-by-mail are becoming widespread.
 
1234 said:
The pharmacist is in the wrong line of work.

It’s easy to get OC by mail.

I hope he:

*gets boycottted

*goes out of business

His private personal religion has nothing to do with whether he decides to fill the prescriptions of the townpeople are prescribing for their patients. HE did not prescribe the medications; the townspeople’s health care providers did.

It’s like a Jehovah’s Witness MD refusing to prescribe a blood transfusion for his patient because HE doesn’t believe in it.

Mercifully,

*private pharmacies are disappearing and prescriptions-by-mail are becoming widespread.
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If the pharmacist were working for a store, I’d agree with you, they should just shut up and do what they are paid to do. In this case, the pharmacist owns the store. They have a right to run it how they see fit.

Nohome
 
Nohome said:
If the pharmacist were working for a store, I’d agree with you, they should just shut up and do what they are paid to do. In this case, the pharmacist owns the store. They have a right to run it how they see fit.

Nohome
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…and the MD has technically a right not to prescribe a blood transfusion, but it would violate the spirit of the Hippocratic oath.

This pharmacist is in the wrong line of work and I hope that he gets an opportunity to leave it.

Here’s a link to the Code of Ethics for Pharmacists:

uspharmd.com/pharmacist/Pharmacist_Oath_and_Code_of_Ethics.html

Here are quotes from that Code which are relevant to this problem:

III. A pharmacist respects the autonomy and dignity of each patient.

A pharmacist promotes the right of self-determination and recognizes individual self-worth by encouraging patients to participate in decisions about their health. A pharmacist communicates with patients in terms that are understandable. In all cases, a pharmacist respects personal and cultural differences among patients.

***VI. A pharmacist respects the values and abilities ofcolleagues and other health professionals.

When appropriate, a pharmacist asks for the consultation of colleagues or other health professionals or refers the patient. A pharmacist acknowledges that colleagues and other health professionals may differ in the beliefs and values they apply to the care of the patient.***
 
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