Need Plan B? He's not gonna sell it.

[n2doc]

Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Need Plan B? He's not selling
New FDA rule not changing morals of pharmacists

By CLAUDIA ROWE
P-I REPORTER

In the mind of pharmacist Jim Ramseth, there is a moral hierarchy when it comes to preventing pregnancy: Selling condoms and birth control pills is OK. But the emergency contraception known as Plan B is not, and Ramseth refuses to provide it. In recent months, the genial 65-year-old owner of Covington Pharmacy has fought hard for the right to make professional choices guided by such personal views. And while his stand on the morning-after pill may be a minority opinion in Washington -- where more than 2,000 women get Plan B directly from their pharmacists each month -- many of Ramseth's colleagues agree that they should not be forced to provide medication with which they have moral or ethical objections.

"Everybody draws their own lines," Ramseth said. "And if a person's purpose is to kill a fertilized egg, then I disagree with that. Regardless of where the practitioner draws that line, they should have the right." Plan B, essentially a high dose of the same ingredient in regular birth control pills, works by preventing ovulation and may stop fertilization or implantation of a fertilized egg. If a woman is already pregnant, the drug has no effect. But to Ramseth it still veers too close to abortion.Like similar bodies in Texas and New York, the Washington state Board of Pharmacy initially supported pharmacists' right to decline providing certain drugs based on personal belief but after receiving thousands of outraged calls and e-mails, decided to revisit the issue at its meeting Thursday.

On Tuesday, Gov. Chris Gregoire threw her weight into the mix by proposing a compromise that would allow druggists to avoid filling prescriptions as long as customers were able to get medication from someone else at the same pharmacy.
more:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/283106_planb30.html