Pharmacist refusal

[fozzy2]

What is the name of your state? Texas

This questions concerns current military policy/law on the question: Can a pharmacist refuse to fill prescriptions/give advice to a person based on their (the pharmacist's) personal religious beliefs? (and not be sanctionable, i.e. reprimanded, fired, etc.)

As might be expected, abortion and birth control are the dominant issues, but clearly this issue could have a wide impact. A key question in most current civilian litigations is whether pharmacists have the same "rights" as physicians. State legislatures (including Texas) are considering "refusal" laws that would specifically allow not only physicians but also "other health care workers" to refuse participation. Wording varies widely, some proposed legislation refers specifically to "abortion" while others are more expansive.

I haven't been able to find any litigation involving military pharmacists, or policy statements for that matter. It would be interesting to find any other policy statements/litigation regarding "refusal" by healthcare workers in general ( i.e. nurses, corpsmen, etc.) There have apparently been a number of cases that limited the ability of enlisted workers to refuse to "take part" in procedures they morally oppose. For example, an enlisted person who refused to take supplies to an abortion lost his case and was punished for disobeying a lawful order. I haven't found any cases involving licensed professionals, however.

There are rumors that a group here in Texas is trolling for a "test case".

[rmet4nzkx]

Military and civilian law in such an instance would also include what is called "Dual Soverinty" because both state and military/federal law are recognized and oculd affect the outcome depending on the facts. This this could vary from state to state, each medical professional would abide by the licensing laws of that state if they are licensed and or the USC/UCMJ codes. These are very complex issues and theory. If you have a specific question and facts perhaps we can offer an opinion.