The Religious Consultation
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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, April 14, 2005 Pharmacist rebuked;
He refused to refill birth control prescription
Madison - The state Pharmacy Examining Board on Wednesday reprimanded and limited the license of a pharmacist who refused to refill a young woman's prescription for oral contraceptives. The seven-member board acted on a recommendation made in February by an administrative law judge who reviewed the case. Pharmacist Neil T. Noesen, 31, was punished for rejecting the young woman's refill request and failing to refer her to another pharmacy where she could get her prescription filled. "Pharmacists have the right to exercise their conscience in a case like this, but the health and safety of the patient has to be the overriding issue," said Michael Bettiga, a Green Bay pharmacist who directs the board. The decision brings a measure of resolution to a case that represents a bigger national debate over the rights of pharmacists and other health care providers to refuse to participate in procedures they say conflict with their moral or religious beliefs. Bettiga said it strikes a balance between Noesen's right to object and the patient's access to proper care. While supporters of women's reproductive rights applauded the decision, abortion opponents said the board's action gives urgency to efforts by Wisconsin lawmakers to pass "conscience clause" legislation to address the ethical problems that pharmacists and other health care providers have with some medical practices. The board's decision will require Noesen to provide advance written notification to employers about what pharmacy practices he will decline to perform, and the steps he will take to be sure the patient's access to necessary medications isn't impeded. Noesen will also be required to pay for the costs of the proceedings and undergo six hours of continuing education in pharmacy practice. Christopher Klein, executive assistant for the state Department of Regulation and Licensing, said the costs are estimated to be about $20,000. Bettiga declined to comment on Noesen's options for appeal. Krystal Williams-Oby, an attorney for Noesen, didn't immediately return calls for comment. The state Department of Regulation and Licensing represented the woman, Amanda Phiede, in the proceedings, and she wasn't expected to issue a comment, Klein said. The case stems from an incident in July 2002, when Noesen was working a Saturday shift as a freelance pharmacist at a Menomonie Kmart pharmacy. He refused to fill a prescription for contraceptives for Phiede, then a student at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. At a Department of Regulation and Licensing hearing in October, Phiede and Noesen testified that he asked her whether she was using the drug for contraception, and she said yes. That's when he refused to fill the prescription, both said. Noesen said at the hearing that he had told the agency that placed him that his Roman Catholic beliefs prevented him from dispensing contraceptives because he didn't want to commit a sin. Phiede went to a nearby pharmacy to have the prescription filled, but Noesen refused to transfer the prescription. Despite trying again that Sunday to have the prescription filled, Phiede had to wait until another pharmacist returned to the store Monday, meaning she missed one of her doses. Williams-Oby objected to the judge's findings in a written response, saying that Noesen had sufficiently informed his employers of his conscientious objections and hadn't harmed Phiede by not filling her prescription. Noesen has run into more trouble. He was arrested in January in Minnetonka, Minn., when he allegedly refused to leave the corporate headquarters of Snyders, a drugstore chain, after being terminated. Snyders didn't return a call for comment about why Noesen was fired. He was charged with disorderly conduct, trespassing and obstructing the legal process, said Minnetonka City Attorney Desyl Peterson. Wisconsin is one of 47 states with a law that allows health care providers to refuse treatment on moral grounds, according to the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League. The law, in place since the 1970s, allows physicians, hospitals and hospital workers to decline to perform abortions and sterilization for moral or religious reasons. Pharmacists aren't included in those protections. This month, Republican legislators introduced a bill to allow pharmacists to opt out of certain practices if they oppose their purpose. If pharmacists refuse to dispense products on moral grounds, the bill would shield them from disciplinary action by the board or the department. Peggy Hamill, state director of Pro-Life Wisconsin, said such legislation is necessary. "No pharmacist should be forced to daily check his or her conscience at the workplace door," Hamill said in a statement. Nicole Safar, public policy analyst for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin, said such a law is "unacceptable" because it would allow health care providers to put their needs ahead of patients. << Milwaukee Journal Sentiel -- 4/14/05
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