carved angel

Pharmacists' Rights at Front Of New Debate (washingtonpost.com):

"There are pharmacists who will only give birth control pills to a woman if she's married. There are pharmacists who mistakenly believe contraception is a form of abortion and refuse to prescribe it to anyone," said Adam Sonfield of the Alan Guttmacher Institute in New York, which tracks reproductive issues.

um, if you think contraception is a form of abortion, then you need to go back to pharmacy school. or high school biology class.

Brauer, of Pharmacists for Life, defends the right of pharmacists not only to decline to fill prescriptions themselves but also to refuse to refer customers elsewhere or transfer prescriptions.

i've already told shadow that if some asshole takes my bcp prescription, and refuses to fill it or give it back, that i'm calling the cops and reporting them for theft. that's my bit of paper, and if you take it from me without providing a service and refuse to give it back, you're stealing from me and i will see to it that what you've done is treated as a crime. i will also be glad to see you prosecuted, if at all possible.

Gay News From 365Gay.com:

Opponents of the bills said they're worried they would allow providers to refuse service for any reason. For example, they said an emergency medical technicians could refuse to answer a call from the residence of gay couple because they don't approve of homosexuality.

does this not seem to go against the hippocratic oath? i don't know whether paramedics are even subject to the oath, but refusing to save someone's life when it's your job is irresponsible and sick, and something that you should be fucking fired for.

Paul A. Long, vice president for public policy for the Michigan Catholic Conference, said the bills promote the constitutional right to religious freedom. "Individual and institutional health care providers can and should maintain their mission and their services without compromising faith-based teaching," he said in a written statement.

well what about the patient's constitutional rights? oh, wait, being gay makes you a non-entity in this country. i forgot. and you can forget that "love your neighbor" bullshit while you're at it, too, right?

Chaos upsets families

i heard about this, and that's the sort of reason i didn't want to be there that night. we were just adding to the noise and conflict. and while we were there, some poor soul was stretchered past the crowd and into the hospice so that they could presumably spend the last of their time in peace. so much for being allowed to die with dignity... it was after seeing that, that i insisted we leave.