aTypical Joe: a gay New Yorker living in the rural South
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Who needs pharmacists anyway!
In the mind of pharmacist Jim Ramseth, there is a moral hierarchy when it comes to preventing pregnancy: Selling condoms and birth control pills is OK. But the emergency contraception known as Plan B is not, and Ramseth refuses to provide it.
In recent months, the genial 65-year-old owner of Covington Pharmacy has fought hard for the right to make professional choices guided by such personal views. And while his stand on the morning-after pill may be a minority opinion in Washington—where more than 2,000 women get Plan B directly from their pharmacists each month—many of Ramseth’s colleagues agree that they should not be forced to provide medication with which they have moral or ethical objections.
Last year Pseudo-Adrienne wondered how long until they demand a conscience clause for cashiers? I should be wary of bringing it up again. Don’t want to give them any ideas!
I pretty much stand by my own view of pharmacists from last year:
What pharmacists have become in our modern era is nothing more than computer jockeys who look up the med, phone the insurance company for approval, then pull the bottle from the shelf, stick it in a bag and send you off to be rung up? Who needs ‘em!
For a chuckle, take another look at Bill Mahr’s take on pharmacists, “take off your pretend doctor jacket and get another job.”
