Wisconsin Abortion Advocates Introduce Bill Attacking Pharmacists

State   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Jun 7, 2005   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

Wisconsin Abortion Advocates Introduce Bill Attacking Pharmacists Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
June 7, 2005

Madison, WI (LifeNews.com) — Abortion advocates in Wisconsin have introduced legislation targeting pharmacists in the Badger state. The legislation would force all pharmacists to dispense any legal prescription drug, including drugs that can cause abortions.

The measure would also clarify state law to exclude birth control and morning after pills from the legal definition of abortion under state law, even though the Plan B drugs sometimes cause abortions.

Sponsors of the bill acknowledge that it will face strong opposition from pro-life groups and lawmakers.

"I don’t expect that it’s going to go anywhere without a battle," one of the bill’s sponsors, Democratic Rep. Christine Sinicki, told the LaCrosse Tribune newspaper.

The bill is the opposite of a pharmacists’ conscience clause measure that Republican Sen. Tom Reynolds has been trying to get the state to pass that would allow pharmacists to opt out of dispensing any drugs that cause abortions.

"It’s simply a labor protection that, should a pharmacist believe abortion occurs at this point or this point," he or she could not be disciplined for refusing to fill a prescription, Reynolds told the Tribune about his bill. "It’s just a broad-ranging protection based on a person’s medical belief and moral belief."

Another lawmakers has filed legislation that would ensure the University of Wisconsin system is not promoting the morning after pill to students. Rep. Daniel LeMahieu, a Republican, told members of a state legislative committee that his bill would prohibit clinics in the University of Wisconsin system from dispensing or prescribing the morning after pill.

Senate Minority Leader Judy Robson is introducing the mandatory prescription bill in the state Senate.

Earlier this year, a judge ruled that a pro-life pharmacist in Wisconsin should be reprimanded for refusing to fill a customer’s prescription because he believed the drug causes abortions and violates his moral beliefs.

Administrative Law Judge Colleen Baird suggested that pharmacist Neil Noesen have his license restricted for two years for the July 2002 incident. Noesen has appealed the ruling.

Related web sites:
Pharmacists for Life International – https://www.pfli.org
Wisconsin Right to Life – https://www.wrtl.org