Court protects pharmacists' conscience rights

Excerpted from "Illinois cannot make pharmacists give 'morning after' pill: court," Reuters, Sep. 21, 2012--An Illinois appellate court Friday affirmed a lower court finding that the state cannot force pharmacies and pharmacists to sell emergency contraceptives - also known as "morning after pills" - if they have religious objections. In 2005, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich mandated that all pharmacists and pharmacies sell "Plan B," the brand name for a drug designed to prevent pregnancy following unprotected sex or a known or suspected contraceptive failure if taken within 72 hours.

Some anti-abortion advocates object to the drugs, which work by preventing the release of an egg, preventing fertilization or stopping a fertilized egg from attaching to the uterus. In 2011, an Illinois judge entered an injunction against the rule, finding no evidence that the drugs had ever been denied on religious grounds, and that the law was not neutral since it was designed to target religious objectors.

The Illinois appellate court agreed that the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act protects pharmacists' decision not to dispense the contraceptives due to their beliefs. "This decision is a great victory for religious freedom," said Mark Rienzi, senior counsel for the Becket Fund, quoted in a statement about the decision. The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, which had filed an amicus brief on behalf of the state, expressed dismay at the court's decision.

Commentary

CMA Vice President for Government Relations Jonathan Imbody: "Pro-life legal groups represented the Christian Medical Association in two amici curiae (friend of the court) briefs in this case. Our briefs, written by the Christian Legal Society (CLS) and Americans United for Life (AUL), argued the following:

"CLS brief: The government is prohibited from coercing health care workers to provide health care services that violate their religious beliefs. The rule violates plaintiffs' rights under the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The rule substantially burdens the plaintiffs' free exercise of religion and is not narrowly tailored to advance the government's purported interest. The circuit court properly held that the rule is not narrowly tailored; nor is it the least restrictive means of achieving its interest.

"AUL brief: There is no 'problem' of access to 'emergency contraception.' The potential post-fertilization effect of 'emergency contraception' is objectionable to a large number of health care providers and provides ground for the right to object to its provision. The Right of Conscience is guaranteed under the Illinois Healthcare Right of Conscience Act and the Illinois Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The Right of Conscience is a historical right supported by the First Amendment.

"Thankfully in this case, the court recognized that the government of Illinois overreached in asserting its power over the religious liberty interests of pharmacists. Now we need a similar handcuffing of the federal government, which under the new health care reform law has wrongly asserted a coercive contraceptives and sterilization mandate over the religious liberty interests of faith-based nonprofits, educational institutions and other ministries. Next month CMA will be submitting amicus briefs in two consolidated cases--Belmont Abbey College v. Sebelius and Wheaton College v. Sebelius--in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, to protect religious liberties and conscience rights from the Obamacare contraceptives and sterilization mandate. Pray for justice to prevail."