Hypothetical pharmacy morality options

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Naeb

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Hypothetical situation here, could be a very real scenario in a few years, especially if you’re in a very liberal country like Canada. I’m asking this because my boyfriend is studying to be a pharmacist and this was on my mind. We are both pro life and he has expressed concerns about having those medications on his conscience.

Say my hypothetical husband is a pharmacist. Euthanasia and abortion pills are legal in Canada and some even paid for by the universal health care plan :cry:

Part 1: He would have several options on how he goes about his work. Any commentaries on which choices would allow him to feel at peace with himself and God would be great.
A) He could dispense the harmful medications and counsel on them like he would any other medication (ie not care).
B) He could dispense medications that are against the faith with the knowledge that he is not the one choosing to take them.
C) He could ask another individual working in the pharmacy to dispense them for him so that it is not on his conscience.
D) If he is the owner of the practice, he could choose not to have those medications in the pharmacy at all, but risk losing his job.
E) Not be a retail pharmacist to avoid these issues, maybe more in research instead

Part 2: As the hypothetical wife, what would my responsibilities be (if any) in each of the above situations that my husband could choose?
 
It would depend on a number of factors. Does he have the option to not handle such prescriptions? Does the law require pharmacies to have them (if he’s the owner)? Would his refusal to co-operate result in any number of people being unable to obtain the drugs in question?

It would seem that actively giving advice about how to use the drugs would be a no-go. Likewise, if his refusal could actually save lives, it does not seem that keeping his job would be a valid excuse for co-operation. Obviously if he can avoid co-operation without serious inconvenience, he must so avoid it. On the other hand, if a pharmacist must dispense such drugs to keep his job, and they could easily be obtained from others, then it would seem justifiable.
 
the National Catholic Bioethics center may be a good place for him to look. They have a good website.
 
It sounds like pharmacist refusal would do nothing to stop the drug from being dispensed to the patient. I found this - “The Ontario College of Pharmacy offers practitioners with conscientious objections to dispensing abortion pills only minimal protection. They may refuse to provide the drug but then must refer patients to pharmacists who will do it. In an emergency, they must overcome their moral qualms and provide it.”
What exactly is an ‘emergency’ in this situation >____> it is so disheartening.
I guess he could have someone else do the dispensing or give a referral. Either way something bad happens.
 
Move to America! We have better freedom of conscience laws
 
Do you guys have Tim Hortons though 😫
All jokes aside my family has thought about it! I love my home but the culture in Canada is toxic right now
 
For a pharmacy owner, an “emergency” might be a case where refusal to co-operate could actually prevent the evil act from happening. Of all cases, that would seem the hardest for an owner to justify, since his job is hardly of greater value than human life.

I think that in ordinary cases (where refusal would have no actual impact on the murder’s commission), both owners and employees would be justified in doing what was required* to avoid legal sanctions and/or loss of employment, but no more than was strictly necessary.

*Assuming that we’re speaking only of physical distribution of the drug, not advice regarding its use.

Edit: There’s an aspect of this that I overlooked.

Manufacturers are not (as far as I’m aware) under any legal obligation to produce these drugs. Ergo, they have no justification for doing so. Given this, buying the drugs may constitute formal co-operation with evil, and thus be forbidden.
 
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I am so glad to see you looking at these questions now (I am assuming that your boyfriend is also thinking of these). I have been a pharmacist practicing in hospital settings for over 30 years. I encourage you to look at these issues throughout your education. Another posterior mentioned the bioethics center. Keep abreast of issues through your regional or national pharmacy associations. They may not directly address the issues regarding faith/morals, but they alert you to prospective changes in law that you need to know. There are likely students and instructors with similar values; seek them out.
 
Find a pro life or Catholic pharmacist association in Canada and learn the law, your rights, and aspects of pharmacy that may be practices with your conscience.
 
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