Accord reached on dispensing morning-after pill

SPRINGFIELD -- Illinois pharmacists who object to dispensing emergency birth control would be allowed to step aside while someone else filled the prescription, under a deal that could settle a lawsuit against the state.

That person -- not required to be a pharmacist -- would contact a pharmacist at a different location, then follow directions for dispensing the so-called morning-after pill.

The compromise means pharmacists would not have to offer a drug they oppose on moral grounds, but minors who need it (adults can obtain emergency contraceptives without a prescription) would not be turned away and have to find a different pharmacy.

"It seems to be a thoughtful settlement," Pam Sutherland, president of Illinois Planned Parenthood, said Wednesday. "This gives them an out and it still makes sure the woman gets her prescription."

The settlement would end a lawsuit against the state by several pharmacists and Walgreen Co. over a state rule requiring pharmacies to fill prescriptions for emergency contraception.

It requires a change in state pharmacy rules, so it must be reviewed by the legislative panel that sets those rules before it can take effect.

If taken within 72 hours of intercourse, the morning-after pill -- a higher dose of regular hormonal contraception -- significantly reduces a woman's chance of becoming pregnant. It works by preventing ovulation or fertilization and interfering with implantation of a fertilized egg, which some people consider the equivalent of abortion.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich introduced the rule more than two years ago, saying that pharmacists had an obligation to fill all prescriptions despite any personal qualms. Someone in need of emergency contraception should always be able to get it, "No delays. No hassles. No lectures," he said then.

His rule put the responsibility on the pharmacies. If one of their employees did not want to fill a prescription, the store had to make another pharmacist available on-site.

Some companies, such as Walgreens, reacted by indefinitely suspending any pharmacist who objected to providing the Plan B contraceptive. Several pharmacists then sued the state to block Blagojevich's rule, and Walgreens joined their lawsuit.

The settlement, first reported by The (Springfield) State Journal-Register, was filed last week. It does not include any exchange of money, attorneys said.

"We think it's fair for us as well as our pharmacists. It allows us to continue to care for patients," said Walgreens spokeswoman Tiffani Bruce.

Francis Manion, an attorney for those pharmacists, said the settlement is technically an agreement between Walgreens and the state. Although his clients are dropping their lawsuit, they aren't part of the compromise to let a remote pharmacist oversee filling the prescription.

That's because the agreement spells out that any pharmacy selling contraception must also sell the morning-after pill, said Manion, who works for the American Center for Law and Justice. His clients didn't want to sign off on that, but generally like the rest of the compromise.

One of the pharmacists who originally sued the state questioned the safety of having a pharmacy technician or store owner fill prescriptions.

"I don't know how that pharmacist in another store will know if the technician actually takes the correct package from the shelf or not, which is one of the things that the pharmacist must do -- assure that the right drug is going out," said Highland resident Richard Quayle, who lost a $100,000 job with Walgreens because he did not want to fill Plan B prescriptions on moral grounds and has dropped out of the lawsuit against the state.

The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation denied that safety would be a problem. Only trained technicians and store owners would be able to fill the prescriptions, and the remote pharmacist would have them double-check their work.

In short

The dispute: State rules require pharmacies to fill prescriptions for emergency birth control. Some pharmacists say they shouldn't be forced to do that if they have moral objections to the drug.

The compromise: Pharmacists would not be forced to provide the contraceptive. If no other pharmacist is available, someone else in the store could fill the prescription by following directions from a different pharmacist at another location.

The concern: One pharmacist questions whether it's safe to have someone fill a prescription without being supervised by an on-site pharmacist.

Source: Associated Press