After posting yesterday’s story about what Bishop Paprocki said to Illinois Governor Blagojevich about the Gov’s executive order to force pharmacists to sell contraceptives, including abortion-inducing pills, I heard on the radio that some downstate pharmacists were suing to have the executive order rescinded.
As reported on the website of The Conservative Voice:
The pro-life pharmacy professionals believe the state’s Health Care Right of Conscience Act allows them and other “medical personnel” to refrain from acting against their consciences; but Blagojevich and Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan feel the law does not cover the pharmacists. The decision may ultimately lie with a judge.
A judge? Well, that’s encouraging, isn’t it? Of course, this is natural for a court to decide, a matter in which the law may be unclear. Are pharmacists in retail stores “medical personnel”? If they are not covered by this or some other law (which itself could be struck down), then can a conscientious Catholic be a pharmacist? And is there a constitutional right to have access to whatever sort of contraceptive one wishes at the store of one’s choice? Or a store within x number of miles if one lives in a small town? Perhaps a judge will decide that there is a constitutional right to contraception 24/7 and every small town must have a 24/7 pharmacy, staffed by atheists.
Recent Comments