Letter from Walgreens about their policies and my reply...comments?

[WillParkinson]

Here is their reply to a letter that I wrote them regarding a pharmacist being allowed to refuse to fill a prescription for a patient.

May 09, 2005


Dear Mr. Bowden,

Thank you for sharing your opinion with us. Walgreens believes it has an
obligation to meet the medical
needs of all of its patients. We also believe we have an obligation to
respect the wide spectrum of views
and beliefs of our 163,000 employees.

At rare times these obligations may clash. To fairly resolve these
situations, and where allowed by state
law, we believe it’s reasonable to respect the individual pharmacist’s
beliefs by not requiring them to fill a
prescription they object to on moral or religious grounds. We also believe
it’s reasonable to meet our
obligation to the patient by having another pharmacist at the store fill
the prescription. If another
pharmacist is not on duty, we will arrange to have the prescription filled
at a nearby pharmacy before the
patient leaves the store.

Thank you for giving us an opportunity to respond to your concern.


Sincerely,


April S.
Consumer Response Representative


Here is my reply to that letter:
Your pharmacist knew his or her obligation before they took the job. They knew that it might require them to do things that don't agree with their "moral belief". This is nothing more than allowing a pharmacist to make decisions on a persons care. They do not know all the details of why a person is receiving that prescription.

As for having another pharmacist fill the prescription or sending it to another pharmacy why should your customer be the one to be inconvenienced?

And where do you draw the line regarding a persons moral belief? What if a pharmacist had a strong moral belief that a black man and a white woman should not be together? Would you allow them to refuse to fill a prescription for medicine for their child? If I came in there to get a prescription filled and I was wearing a Gay Pride T-shirt would you allow the pharmacist to refuse to serve me? If it's OK for a pharmacist what about a cashier? Or a stock clerk?

A person checks his or her belief system at the door when they accept a job. If I thought that a certain group of people was improperly affecting the environment and as a Wiccan it offended my moral belief system I would not be allowed to not serve them at my job simply because of what I thought to be true and proper. My belief (or lack thereof) does not give me the right to discriminate against people. Your policy is simply an open door to do just that.

Again, I will not be filling prescriptions with Walgreens nor will I shop there until this blatant discriminatory practice is stopped.

Will Bowden
Milwaukee, WI

Comments? (And please be kind. I had a horrible night at work and was very pissy when I got this letter.)

[SCDem]

1. Great letter

:applause:

[ewagner]

2. Good job Will!

and btw, good to see you! :hi:

This policy is a slippery slope because biblical beliefs can be interpreted in many, many different ways.

For instance:

The Bible says that "the days of a man's life are three score and ten..." So that's 70 years right?. So can a pharmacist refuse to dispense life-saving medication to any senior citizen over 70 years old?

[WillParkinson]

4. Well thank you and thank you again!

Nice to be seen. :)

This whole Walgreens thing has irked me greatly. If you want to practice your religion of choice that's fine. More power to you. But your choice of religion should not impact my personal life. You do what you need and let me do what I need but don't think that what you believe gives you the right to make your statements about my life.

[ewagner]

9. Hey Will

be sure to give Basil a "beggin strip" for me!

[WillParkinson]

10. Bailey....

You mean this annoying little pain in the butt? Consider it given. Bailey has a new thrill in life. He's nuts over the little red dot from a laser pointer. It's the funniest thing to watch him chase it all over the house.

Better that dot....

Than this one.

[ewagner]

11. Thanks for the pic

he's still a cute little guy......

sorry I forgot his name was changed.......

we're remaining dogless for the time being......

[ClassWarrior]

3. Ask them if they'll tolerate employees performing Wiccan rituals.

NGU.

[MissB]

5. I think you covered all the bases.

:applause:

[leftofthedial]

6. My religious beliefs pohibit me from paying for things I need

from Walgreens. I'm sure they will understand if I make arrangements to pay at Rite Aid for any items I gather from the Walgreens store.

[Worst Username Ever]

7. So that must mean a vegan can get a job at mcdonalds

and refuse to serve me a burger? These guys are crazy.

[flvegan]

8. My rant starts here:

I hate this shit. Everyone has the right to believe what they want, but not to *force* it on another. Here's my point:

I'm a vegan and an animal rights advocate. Let's pretend for a moment that I'm a pharmacist that will push my beliefs on others. So:

1. I won't fill a prescription for ANY medicine that was tested in any way on any animal. Sorry;

2. I won't fill any prescription that contains any animal ingredients. If the pill is a gelatin capsule, you're shit outta luck. Sorry;

3. Should you have somehow found yourself with a prescription that didn't involve animal testing/vivisection, I will still refuse to fill it if the medicine involved is made by a company that tests ANYTHING on animals. Sorry.

4. Lastly, before I fill your prescription, I'll need to speak with your doctor. I'll want to know if, in med school, he or she participated in any of the old "dog labs" or practiced any other procedure on live animals. If so, no drugs for you, as I find him/her to be of questionable character and devoid of morals and ethics, and I refuse to honor his signature.

How mor-fucking-onic would that be?

Sorry, Will. Overall, a great letter, and your points are well made.