A Pharmacist Refuses to Fill a Prescription for Birth Control: An Ethics Case St

Question

A Pharmacist Refuses to Fill a Prescription for Birth Control: An Ethics Case Study

On July 6, 2002, a University of Wisconsin-Stout student, went to the K-Mart in Menomonie, Wisconsin, to fill her prescription for oral contraceptives, birth control pills. The only pharmacist on duty, Neil Noesen, asked if she intended to use the prescription for contraception. When she replied in the affirmative, Noesen, a Roman Catholic, refused to fill the prescription, explaining that to do so would be against his religious beliefs. She thought that he was kidding.

But Noesen was very serious. As a devout Catholic, he had concluded that he could not dispense contraceptives. He also refused to transfer the prescription or tell her how or where she could get the prescription filled, all of which, he explained later, would, in his view, constitute participating in wrongful behavior. Significantly, prior to employment at K-Mart, Noesen had informed the district manager that he would not dispense contraceptives; however, he did not mention that he would refuse to refer or to transfer prescriptions.

The woman filed a complaint with the Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing's Pharmacy Examining Board. The administrative law judge who heard the complaint found that the ordinary standard of care "requires that a pharmacist who exercises a conscientious objection to dispensing of a prescription must ensure that there is an alternative mechanism for the patient to receive his or her medication, including informing the patient of their options to obtain their prescription." Further, he found that Noesen's conduct constituted "a danger to the health, welfare, or safety of a patient and was practiced in a manner which substantially departs from the standard of care ordinarily exercised by a pharmacist and which harmed or could have harmed a patient."

His ruling also limited Noesen's license, requiring him to notify any pharmacy where he worked of any practices he would refuse to perform and how he would ensure patient access to prescriptions that he declined to fill.

Identify all of the affected Stakeholders and their values: Who are the individuals or programs affected by the ethical question?

Explanation / Answer

Identify all of the affected Stakeholders and their values: Who are the individuals or programs affected by the ethical question?

The stakeholders in this case are the student of the University of Wisconsin-Stout and Neil Noesen the pharmacist on duty in K-Mart. The individuals affected by the ethical question raised in this question is the student and K-Mart because the student does not get the oral contraceptives, birth control pills and K-Mart too because it gets involved in the case as the pharmacist not only refused to prescription but also refused to transfer the prescription to anyone who will be doing this for her.

Now, the question is that is this ethical for Neil Noesen to do, I believe that it is not at all ethical because he can himself not fill the prescription because of his religious belief as he is a Roman Catholic but then he need to provide the student with an alternative approach but he did not do that therefore it raises ethical concerns regarding Neil Noesen. Neil Noesen was asked to ensure patient access to prescriptions that he declined to fill.

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