Alternative Diary Title: When I want your opinion about Christ Jesus I'll ask for it; in the meantime, FILL MY DAMN PRESCRIPTION!
In a Round One Victory of a number of Right-Wing lawsuits, the 9th Circuit has ruled that pharmicists in Washington CAN NOT withhold service because of personal religious beliefs.
In their own words:
"Any refusal to dispense -- regardless of whether it is motivated by religion, morals, conscience, ethics, discriminatory prejudices, or personal distaste for a patient -- violates the rules," the panel said.
After Washington State passed a law in 2007 mandating that pharmacies fill all prescriptions, family-owned Ralph's Thriftway filed a number of law suits to block this law on Constitutional/What about Jesus?!?! grounds.
A lower court had given them an injunction barring the law from going into effect until the case was settled. While there are still several issues left to be decided, today's ruling LIFTS THE INJUNCTION IMMEDIATELY and will force all pharmacists to honor prescriptions of patients.
However, the company and two other pharmacists knowing that the LAW would once again trump their agenda, anticipated getting their ass handed to them losing and got the State to agree not to fine them until the other parts of the case are worked out.
Yet, since the courts ruled unanimously on THIS aspect, the chances of them winning on other Grounds of Wingnuttery are about as slim as Norm Coleman's bid for a Senatorial Comeback.
Score one for Justice today. Thank you 9th Circuit. Congratulations to the people of Washington, both Women and very nervous Men.
UPDATE: Note that while Plan B is clearly the headline grabber in this story because of the pro-life agenda attacking this, the ruling clearly states that ALL PRESCRIPTIONS must be filled. This means that doctors that prescribe lethal doses of sedatives to patients for euthanasia reasons under Washington's new Death with Dignity law, must also be filled over the moral and religious objections of the pharmacists.
UPDATE II: For the legally curious amongst us, here is the ruling.