What can be done about pharmacists who refuse to fill women's prescriptions for birth control?
Laws that guarantee women's access to prescriptions are becoming increasingly necessary to address the growing issue that some pharmacists refuse to fill women's legally prescribed birth control. Some pharmacists even go so far as to lecture women, humiliate them at the counter, or refuse to hand back a prescription. When a woman walks into a pharmacy with a birth-control prescription from her doctor, she should walk out with the medication – without intimidation, delay, or harassment.
Current State Laws
7 states guarantee that women’s birth-control prescriptions will be filled: CA, IL, ME, NV, NJ, WA, WI.
- 2 states also require pharmacies to dispense over-the-counter emergency contraception: IL, WA.
2012 Notable Cases
In 2005, Illinois enacted a rule guaranteeing that women’s birth-control prescriptions would be filled. Upon receipt of a valid and lawful prescription for contraception, a pharmacy was required to dispense the contraceptive or a suitable alternative without delay. The law was challenged in court in three separate lawsuits.
In April 2010, Illinois repealed the 2005 rule and replaced it with a new, broader regulation, one part of which requires pharmacies to dispense women’s birth control, including over-the-counter emergency contraception. In May 2010, in light of the new rule, the judge in the Morr Fitz, Inc.v. Blagojevich case, the only remaining challenge to the 2005 law, expanded his 2009 preliminary injunction that exempted the pharmacists in the case from complying with the law, allowing them to decline to stock or dispense emergency contraception.
A trial was held in March 2011, and in April, the judge declared the regulation invalid, and enjoined the state from enforcing it. The state appealed the decision and in September 2012, an appellate court ruled that the injunction was permanent as applied only to the plaintiffs in this specific case. It reversed the lower court’s ruling that the state was blocked from enforcing the rule, and the regulation is now back in effect.
2012 Notable Developments
As part of the ACA, all newly issued health plans must cover the full range of FDA-approved methods of contraception. The policy explicitly exempts religious houses of worship. Moreover, the policy allows religiously affiliated employers that presently refuse to offer their employees contraceptive coverage a one-year grace period to come into compliance. These organizations will be allowed to opt out of the policy permanently if they oppose it – but in those cases, insurance companies will be responsible for covering birth control directly to the consumer.
In response to the birth-control policy, anti-choice members of Congress introduced a flurry of bills in opposition. Additionally, anti-choice committee chairs held numerous hearings to counter the policy. While the anti-contraception reaction in Congress resulted in only one floor vote – in the Senate – the lawsuits continue to move through the courts, threatening to restrict this new benefit.
With more than three million unintended pregnancies occurring each year, the United States has a far higher unintended-pregnancy rate than other industrialized countries. The historic development that guarantees insurance companies will cover the cost of birth control signifies an even greater need to guarantee access to birth control at the pharmacy counter.
View a map of all states with Guaranteed Access to Prescriptions.