BILL NUMBER:S3146

TITLE  OF  BILL:    An  act  to  amend the education law, in relation to
prohibiting pharmacists from refusing to dispense medication solely  for
philosophical, moral, or religious reasons

PURPOSE:  To prohibit a pharmacist from refusing to dispense or refill a
Prescription or non-prescription drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration  solely  on  the grounds that the dispensing or refill of
the prescription or non-prescription would contravene  the  pharmacist's
philosophical, moral or religious beliefs.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section  1 amends § 6810 of the Education Law to provide that no pharma-
cist may refuse to dispense or refill a prescription or non-prescription
drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug administration solely  based  on
the pharmacist's philosophical, moral or religious beliefs.

§ 2 is the effective date.

EXISTING  LAW:  New York State law does not currently have any statutory
prohibition on so-called "pharmacist refusals."

JUSTIFICATION:   As  part  of  a  broadening  anti-choice  strategy,  an
increasing  number of physicians are refusing to write prescriptions for
              

contraception and  more  pharmacists  are  refusing  to  dispense  birth
control, including emergency contraception (formerly known as the "morn-
ing-after pill").  Some states (Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi and South
Dakota)  have  enacted  statutes  that  explicitly permit pharmacists to
refuse to furnish contraceptives, or any prescription based  on  his  or
her  moral  beliefs. No state has enacted a statutory ban on "pharmacist
refusals," although Massachusetts, Illinois  and  Wisconsin  have  taken
administrative actions to prohibit the practice.

Prescription  refusal  is a disturbing trend that can jeopardize woman's
reproductive health. Denying women their  rights  to  timely  access  to
health  care is an act of discrimination that could lead to an increased
number of unintended pregnancies.

Some pharmacists even go so far as to lecture women, humiliate  them  in
public,  or  refuse  to  hand back the prescription after they refuse to
fill it.

Illinois was the first state to issue a statewide regulation to  address
this  growing  problem.  In April 2005, the Governor issued an emergency
rule that requires pharmacies  that  stock  emergency  contraception  to
accept  and  fill  prescriptions  for  contraceptives without delay. The
Governor acted in response to complaints from two women who said that  a
Chicago pharmacist had refused to fill their prescriptions for emergency
contraception.

Although  the  total  number of pharmacist refusal incidents is unknown,
reports of pharmacist refusal date back to 1990. An April, 2005 New York
Times editorial cites some 180 reports of refusals in a six-month period
last year. Planned  Parenthood  has  documented  incidents  in  Georgia,
Texas,  Wisconsin, Illinois (Chicago), and New Hampshire. To date, there
have not been any reported incidents in New York.

The moral or religious beliefs of a person's health care provider should
not limit their access to basic health  care-  The  refusal  to  fill  a
lawfully  issued prescription is an indefensible abuse of power by phar-
macists and an act of discrimination against women. Health care  provid-
ers  such  as  pharmacists  have  no business forcing their own moral or
ethical views onto customers who may  not  share  them,  and  those  who
cannot  dispense medicines lawfully prescribed should seek other employ-
ment.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:; None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:  Takes effect on the first of November  next  succeeding
the date it shall have become law.