Shame isn't a cure for Plan B

Last year, a staffer at the Cedar River Clinic in Renton called in a prescription to the outpatient pharmacy at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle.

A few minutes later, the pharmacy worker called back. I found out who you are, she said, referring to the clinic's abortion services. She said she would be "morally unable" to fill the scrip for an antibiotic prescribed for an abortion. The incident is one of three included in a complaint filed last month by Cedar River to the state Department of Health. (Go to my column at seattletimes.com/nicolebrodeur to read the complaint.)

I'd like to thank those folks in the white coats for putting yet another hurdle between safe, affordable health care and the women who need and deserve it.

For while they've been proselytizing from behind their high counter, the rate of unplanned pregnancies has increased by almost 30 percent for women living below the poverty line, according to the federal National Center for Health Statistics.

It's clear women need emergency contraception, commonly known as the morning-after pill or Plan B, which helps prevent a pregnancy if administered within 72 hours of sex.

Instead, some are given strong doses of shame.

Next month, the state Board of Pharmacy will decide whether that will continue: if pharmacists should be allowed to refuse to fill prescriptions on moral grounds.

The board was leaning toward a draft that would allow pharmacists to decline scrip, but only for something like an incorrect dosage, a drug interaction or suspected fraud.

Then recently, board member Donna Dockter brought a draft of her own, "allowing more options for the pharmacists to refuse to fill a prescription," according to Steven M. Saxe, board executive director.

Both drafts will be reviewed June 1, when the board may decide whether to put one up for a public hearing. And its decision stands — Gov. Chris Gregoire cannot overrule it.

"There is certainly a concern for access to care," Saxe told me, which has to be the understatement of the year.

Why would a pharmacist want people to go without the medication they need and which was prescribed legally? Why butt in on the doctor-patient relationship?

If a licensed pharmacist won't fill legal prescriptions without a dose of moralizing, maybe they should look into another line of work.

I know myself and what I believe in; I'm not going to be answering phones at "Tom DeLay was Framed!" headquarters, or selling Bushmasters at a gun shop.

Despite filing a complaint, Cedar River doesn't care if one pharmacist refuses to fill a prescription. But the clinic demands that the prescription be filled by the pharmacy that same day — and that any drama associated with a moral issue be played out behind the counter and away from the patient.

For now, the drama lies with the Board of Pharmacy. Let's not allow it to be a tragedy for women.

Nicole Brodeur's column appears Wednesday and Sunday. Reach her at 206-464-2334 or nbrodeur@seattletimes.com.

No problems with Viagra, tho.