Congress is creeping into our bedrooms again-and this time for a good reason.

Some American pharmacists have begun to refuse to fill prescriptions for birth control, saying that doing so violates their religious and moral beliefs. And the American Pharmacists Association supports their actions.

In response, the House of Representatives and the Senate last Thursday revealed the Access to Legal Pharmaceuticals Act (APLhA), a bill which allows pharmacists to do this only when a co-worker at the same pharmacy can fill the prescription, according to CNN.

Some legislators rightfully argue a person’s decision to use contraception, like any other medicine, is a private matter between the person and his or her doctor. If a patient wants to take birth control, the pharmacist -acting as a pharmacist- should not refuse and respect the prescription.

‘Nobody has a right to come between any person and their doctor,’ said Sen. Frank Lautenberg, a New Jersey Democrat and co-sponsor of the bill.

The bill comes after 22 states drafted laws allowing pharmacists to refuse to fill such prescriptions, according to Newsday. The federal law, thankfully, would overrule the state laws.

A pharmacist’s job requires him or her to fill any and all prescriptions given by people’s doctors. They only refuse if it is believed the prescription could harm the person’s health (if it is mixed with another drug for example.)

Many patients, however, take the drugs for other medical reasons than to prevent pregnancy, and refusing to fill the prescription can put the patient at risk. In this case, their reasoning for refusal-the wrongfulness of preventing pregnancy-is illogical. And it’s not their business to know why a person chooses to take the medication.

These pharmacists are free to their own beliefs of the wrongfulness of contraception. They have the right to control their own bodies and to define their morals. But by refusing to fill contraception prescriptions, these pharmacists impose their beliefs on others, who also have the right to their own beliefs and their own bodies. They imply their morals are ultimately ‘right’ and those who take birth control have ‘wrong’ morals.

Congress’ bill is an admirable attempt at compromise. But while it allows Americans to still receive their medications, it allows people to infringe on other’s own morality and privacy. Here Congress should step into the bedroom- to keep everyone else out.

JEAN STEVENS IS A JUNIOR MAGAZINE, WOMEN’S STUDIES AND POLITICAL SCIENCE MAJOR. E-MAIL HER AT JMSTEV03@SYR.EDU.

Published on April 17, 2005 at 12:00 pm