Reply #7: That is going to create quite a backlash among the vast majority

[JDPriestly]

of medical personnel who favor birth control bills, contraception, etc. Think about the additional patients and work these people will have to take care of if a few of their co-workers refuse to do it. Why would a person go into Gyn-Obstetrics if anti-choice. What is there for such a person to do? And pharmacists? Can you imagine this scene going on 40 times a day at your local pharmacy? "Hey, Julie, will you take this one. She wants birth control pills?" Or worse, what happens if pharmacies have to make room for two lines, one for birth control stuff and the other for everything? Yeah, these anti-choice employees are going to be real popular in the workplace.

This is not a practical plan. The employer won't be able to discriminate against the anti-choice cads, but that does not mean that they will be popular.

This is especially interesting because the rule with regard to other types of discrimination is that regardless of the type of discrimination alleged -- disability, race, gender, age, religion, etc., the person alleging discrimination has to be able to show that he or she is qualified to do the job. So, if you have a disability that prohibits you from lifting more than 20 pounds, and the job from which you are barred requires lifting 40 pounds at a time, you are not qualified and probably will not prevail on a claim of disability discrimination.

Here, the people who would claim discrimination based on this rule would, by definition, not be able to do the job demanded.

Unlike other discrimination law, this law would force employers to change the job description to avoid discrimination. I wonder what employers will think about this.

Say you have two licensed pharmacists. One is anti-choice, the other is pro-choice. One will not prescribe or sell contraceptives. The other will. How are you going to arrange the schedule? Obviously, you either have to have both pharmacists on duty at all times and close the rest of the time, forgo sales of contraceptives when the anti-employee is on duty or hire a third person. So, unlike other anti-discrimination law, this law puts a really punitive burden on the employer and the co-employees.

I think there will be a backlash.