The role of pharmacist in approving birth-control is none

Last week over 100 people gathered outside of an Osco in the Loop at State and Adams to peacefully protest. A pharmacist at that Osco had been refusing to fill prescriptions for birth control pills, including the controversial, "morning-after pill." While this is not the first time a pharmacist has let his/her personal beliefs get in the way of filling prescriptions, and it certainly won't be the last, this was particularly stinging for women in Chicago, as it was the first time that many people have heard of such an event.

Birth control can be a touchy and personal subject for many women. There are many methods of birth control available to women today, one of the most popular being a hormonal pill, often referred to as "The Pill." Women on the pill are inundated with a controlled amount of hormones to prevent the implantation of an egg into the uterus, therefore preventing pregnancy.

No surprise here, but modern contraceptives can fail. Condoms, if not used properly, can break or slip off. The birth control pill, if not taken correctly, at the same time daily, can cease to be effective. These methods are effective, but fallible. Luckily, there is another, emergency method that is available to women who do not wish to be pregnant.

Plan B is an emergency contraceptive set of pills that prevents the implantation of an egg in the uterus of a woman. This set of pills, more commonly known as the "morning after pill," is a godsend for many women who would not have the financial means to raise a child.

Pharmacists provide an important link between doctors and patients. They have a sort of checks and balances type of relationship between the doctors who prescribe the medications and the patients who take the medications. Pharmacists are allowed, in some cases, to override or refuse to distribute medication when they believe that it could be harmful to the patient (i.e., medications that should not be taken together, prescribed by different doctors, etc.).

But in no way should a pharmacist's personal morals have anything to do with the medication that he/she distributes. When entering the field of pharmacy, a student learns all of the requirements of the job. If a person is not able to complete any of the requirements, then perhaps he/she should rethink his/her career choices. It's no big secret that women take birth control pills, as hormonal birth control is one of the most commonly filled prescriptions. The emergency contraceptive Plan B, while relatively new to the market, is really just a higher dose of the same hormones that are in birth control pills.

Women who tried to obtain their medications were told by the pharmacist in question to come back later and another pharmacist would be able to fill the prescription. The audacity of this pharmacist, to impose her beliefs on unsuspecting women, is great. Because Plan B is a time sensitive medication (recommended to be taken less than 24 hours after unprotected intercourse, can be taken up to 72 hours later, but becomes less effective the longer it is), the fact of the matter is that these women were being denied a basic right to obtain medication prescribed to them by a medical professional because of a pharmacist's beliefs.

At this point in time in this country, women are still in relative charge of their own reproductive health. But when events such as this happen, the line becomes blurred as to who decides what is "right" for women and their bodies. As the body is the one and only thing that a person can ever truly own, whose choice should it be?