Georgia Walmart Cites ‘Conscience Clause,’ Refuses To Fill Prescription

A Walmart pharmacist in Milledgeville, Georgia, refused to fill a woman’s valid prescription which her doctor had given her shortly after she suffered a miscarriage.

Brittany Cartrett said the prescription for Misoprostol was given to her by her doctor shortly after she miscarried five weeks into a recent pregnancy. Use of the drug after a miscarriage can prevent a more invasive procedure being done by a doctor. However, Misoprostol can also be used in conjunction with Mifepristone to end a pregnancy in its early stages.

Cartrett says she believes that because Misoprostol has a dual use, the pharmacist declined to fill the prescription, even though she was given no reason for the refusal.

Recalling the day she attempted to get her prescription filled, Cartrett said:

“She looks at my name and she says ‘Oh, well, I couldn’t think of a valid reason why you would need this prescription.’ I tell her my reasons for needing it, and she says ‘Well, I don’t feel like there is a reason why you would need it, so we refused to fill it.’”

When asked why the pharmacy would not fill the prescription, pharmacist Sandip Patel said that under existing Georgia law, a pharmacist can refuse to fill certain prescriptions.

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), says the Georgia law, which states that pharmacists “shall not be required to fill a prescription for an emergency contraceptive drug,” is the response of some states’ to the Supreme Court Roe v. Wade verdict legalizing abortions. A spokesperson for NCSL added:

“The issue is expanding as pharmacists are refusing to fill emergency contraception and contraception prescriptions. This movement resulted in the term ‘conscience clause,’”

Cartrett was able to get the prescription filled at another pharmacy, but says she felt like the Walmart pharmacist was judging her and refused to help her because she didn’t believe in abortion, which is still a legal procedure in the United States.

Apparently the State of Georgia and Walmart are unaware of a well-known Supreme Court decision which guarantees a woman’s right to choose. Or they just choose to ignore the laws they disagree with.

This article was originally published by the same author at LiberalAmerica.org.

 

20 thoughts on “Georgia Walmart Cites ‘Conscience Clause,’ Refuses To Fill Prescription

  1. This “conscience clause” excuse is like opening a can of worms. It is not the pharmacist’s business to refuse a legitimate prescription from a doctor. This is WRONG. I’m glad the woman was able to fill her prescription at another pharmacy. I would publish the pharmacist’s name in the newspaper and complain to Walmart and anyone else involved. Think: this time contraception. Next time it might be a blood related drug or an immunization. Some religions do not believe in blood transfusions or vaccinations.

  2. What is wrong with that Pharmacist? Since when did she become a doctor to make such a decision? Didn’t she know that the lady could have died from blood loss after the miscarriage? Such lack of compassion needs to be addressed and should she be found to not be human, than she needs to be fired!! Shame on her!!

  3. “Or they just choose to ignore the laws they disagree with.”

    Now that is funny Obama and the Liberals have been doing the same thing…HYPOCRITES..

    • Bill you are so full of s**t. The liberals as you label them aren’t creating near the hypocrisies that the “conservatives” religious right are. Give it up man. Live and let live.

    • Please cite specific instances of President Obama and the Liberals ignoring the laws they disagree with. Thank you.

  4. THE PHARMACIST SHOULD BE FIRED AND IF NOT, WE SHOULD STOP SHOPPING AT WALMART. WHAT DOES WALMART CORPORATE SAY ABOUT THE INCIDENT?

    • We should all refuse to shop at Walmart anyway. The procure from countries that allow the use of slave labor then hide the excess profits by channeling the goods through foreign tax havens to avoid paying US taxes. Then they underpay employees to the point that many need food stamps and government subsidized healthcare. Now they want to play the “Conscience clause” , talk about an oxymoron !

  5. The pharmacist and the tech should have called the prescribing physician to verify the use of the drug if it bothered them so much to fill it. So much for Walmart giving the best customer service. I would call the company and complain that they did not follow through with the doctor, and that I took my pharmacy business to a new place.

    • It’s absolutely none of their business and they have no right to call the Dr to verify WHY he/she wrote the prescription. Their job is to fill the prescription.

  6. The pharmacist is a hypocrite. It goes against God’s will to fill ANY prescription that would ease the suffering that God Himself created.

  7. in the civilized world, the pharmacist’s actions would be called practicing medicine without a license.

  8. People who work in retail have a job to serve the public they need to leave their religious bullshit excuses at home where the book of bullshit sits on a shelf only being opened on sunday

    • What will ultimately happen is business will start losing money because of this and that will not please the corporate world, which controls everything, and people who put their religious convictions before their jobs will find themselves unable to gain employment. Of course in the meantime, they have violated many other people’s rights.

  9. And the pharmacist has what credentials to override the woman’s physician who wrote the prescrition? This has nothing to do with “conscience,” but rather unbridled authoritarian arrogance driven by her religious beliefs. She should be fired and have her pharmacist license removed.

  10. The Oath of a Pharmacist*
    At this time, I vow to devote my professional life to the service of all
    humankind through the profession of pharmacy.
    I will consider the welfare of humanity and relief of human suffering my
    primary concerns.
    I will apply my knowledge, experience and skills to the best of my ability to
    assure optimal drug therapy outcomes for the patients I serve.
    I will keep abreast of developments and maintain professional competency in
    my profession of pharmacy.
    I will maintain the highest principles of moral, ethical and legal conduct.
    I will embrace and advocate change in the profession of pharmacy that
    improves patient care.
    I take these vows voluntarily with the full realization of the responsibility with
    which I am entrusted by the public.
    *
    Developed by the American Pharmaceutical Association Academy of Students of
    Pharmacy/American Association of Colleges of Pharma

  11. Do they refuse to fill Viagra prescriptions or any of the other erectile dysfunction drugs that are available? Impotency is God’s will after all.

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