Va. pharmacy caters to pro-life customers

Isn't disturbing to read the details about value clashes, what is a right and not a right, and how government affects innocent life? I strongly applaud the Catholic community for standing errect as Americans, asserting what is right as believed and professed in their religion. Not only has freedom of speech in America been stimied by liberals, religion too has suffered seriously from inconsistent and contorted liberal values.

Isn't disturbing to read how religious people are imposing their religion on others? The job of a pharmacist is to dispense medication that is prescribed by your doctor, not to pass moral judgement. This pharmacist should become a shaman if he wants to mix religion and medicine. Why should this superstitious garbage be tolerated by the public? Imagine a pharmacy that wouldn't sell film because photography steals you sole? It has the same basis in truth as birth control being morally wrong.

Praise the Lord for this kind of pharmacy. Today's society is so messed up with liberals trying to rule everything. This is exactly why we need McCain/Palin in the White House. I pray that people vote based on character, values, integrity, honesty, morals and experience because we all know that Obama HAS NONE OF THESE. McCain/Palin '08

To all of the brian_d_w's out there: It's quite simple. Even a moron would understand it: if you don't like it, shop somewhere else. Get it? You rail against "imposing their religion on others" by doing exactly the same thing: imposing your secular religion. Come back when you actually have an intelligent, cogent argument.

I pray that people vote based on character, values, integrity, honesty, morals and experience because we all know that Obama HAS NONE OF THESE. ------------- McCain still has 'em?? But he has flipped-flopped so many times that even intelligent folks in his campaign doesn't know if he believes in what he is for, or a against, or vice versa.

By: brian_d_w Isn't disturbing to read how religious people are imposing their religion on others? The job of a pharmacist is to dispense medication that is prescribed by your doctor, not to pass moral judgement. This pharmacist should become a shaman if he wants to mix religion and medicine. -------- Was that pharmacist the guy who held some pagan ritual over Palin to rid her of demon spells and witchery??

Glad to see that the "tolerant" liberals are rearing their heads again. So what if this pharmacy decides not to sale birth control? No one makes you shop there. You are free to go to a pharmacy which shares your value system. I find it amazing that those who scream "intolerant" "bigot" "religious nutcase" "Shaman!" are the same ones who want to initiate government force to bring others under the reign of their value system. Where is the "tolerance" in that? The fact is, there people aren't "tolerant" of anything. They just want to impose an atheistic/secularist worldview on everyone else. They hate the free-market and they want to use government force to establish their goals. NO ONE IS FORCING YOU TO SHOP AT THE PHARMACY. You should have enough decency to allow the private business to run as it sees fit. If you don't like it, shop elsewhere.

While it's true that no one is forcing anyone to shop at the pharmacy, they have obligations to the populace. What happens if all the pharmacies in the area refuse to provide birth control pills? What if this wasn't a Christian fascist refusing to sell birth control, but instead was a Muslim fascist refusing to sell antibiotics (not that it's an issue for Muslims but you get the point). In the case of the Muslim you would be calling for his/her head, or would just firebomb the place.

Can I ask then.... WHY do Pro-Life people stand outside pro-choice/family planning clinics and protest, yell at people going in, bomb them, kill the doctors, etc....YOU dont have to go there or use their services!!! NO ONE IS FORCING YOU TO GO THERE! We in the PRO CHOICE community have a right to have our clinics as much as you have a right to your pharmacy then ...right?? And just a side note - I was on birth control for many years due to severe cramps, bleeding, irregular cycles, etc. Had nothing to do with preventing a baby. SO! It is health care to some! I am an active Catholic who believes that GOD has allowed me to think and act for myself - you should allow me to do that too. I remember statements like - do not judge, lest ye be judged. Treat your neighbor as you would me. Let thee who has no sin cast the first stone! Stop judging other. We will all face judgement one day, from HE who has a right to judge. YOU dont qualify!

"Robert Semler, the pharmacist in charge, will not direct people on where to find such stores." This is the comment that bothers me. While a pharmacy is a business, and business have the right (within the law) to stock or not stock products as they choose, it is irresponsible of the pharmacist, as a member of the medical community, to not provide this information when asked. He states that he's catering to a specific population that prefer to patronize businesses demonstrating these specific values, so he's not going to hurt his business or lose dedicated customers by answering the "where" question with "the Rite-Aid 3 doors down".

jopplynn: The merchant may think the customer a lazy one for imposing upon the merchant for information; mind you, information that is readily available, say in a telephone book? We are living in the information age. Must I a fellow citizen be required or expected to tell you where to go to, say buy a pair of shoes? The birth control device or so-called "medicine" are not emergency materials, although the surely could be life or death, ultimately.

First- from the U.S. Department of Labor: "Pharmacists in community pharmacies dispense medications, counsel patients on the use of prescription and over-the-counter medications, and advise physicians about patients’ medication therapy. They also advise patients about general health topics such as diet, exercise, and stress management, and provide information on products such as durable medical equipment or home health care supplies." Second- The Pharmacists oath: http://www.cop.ufl.edu/studaff/oath.pdf Items 1-3:OATH OF A PHARMACIST At this time, I vow to devote my professional life to the service of all local and global communities through the profession of pharmacy. I will consider the welfare of humanity and relief of human suffering my primary concerns. I will apply my knowledge, experience, and skills to the best of my ability to assure optimal outcomes for my patients. ------------------------------ Again, the pharmacist is a member of the medical community. General health topics such as exercise and stress management are also not emergency materials. The medical community is a public health service community. Contraceptives and hormone prescriptions are not comparable to a pair of shoes. The pharmacist can counsel the individual on his or her choices, explaining his position in an effort to assist the patient to make healthy choices, but still has a responsibility to that patient to answer the question of "Where can I buy them/get this prescription filled near here?" if DIRECTLY asked. He does not need to offer any unrequested information. By your argument, you also must not bother an employee in a grocery or retail store to help you find a particular item. Use the directory.

That is good information jopplynn. Thank you, I didn't know that. Discussion here takes me to Obama, wouldn't you know it? I heard him state that health care is a right. I suppose that if health care is a right then he and Congress will have the Bill of Rights amended to include health care. That's all well and goodl. Then, if health care is a right, explain to me, the dumb person I am (I have a right to be dumb.), why the fetus wouldn't come under having that right to health care too. As it lives in its mom's womb it too has a right to health care. If that's the case, and of course there's always an "if," then Obama is not consistent in thinking about the matter. Health care for some, yet abortion for others? We truly live in a mentally tough world.

A drug store is a private business and if it doesn't carry what the public wants, then it will go out of business. Had this been a government entity stating that you couldn't sell it in their jurisdiction, then I would have a problem with it. If this wasn't about pro-choice, then no one would care what drugs the pharmacist stock. It is a matter of life or death only to the possible unborn child. For many women, birth control pills are drugs that supports a life style not that treats an illness. For women with illness like endometrosis, it is a valid treatment option. I was distressed to see that some states have mandated it. I think its similar to the fact that not all doctors will perform abortions, to these pharmacists that is what you are requiring them to do. If they wish to err on the side of caution on the debate of when life begins, then who can fault them for taking a moral stand. After all this is one of the keys that the original founders of the United States were seeking to protect -religious freedom. We tend to forget that many of them came here fleeing countries that would not allow them that freedom.

brian_d_w said: "they have obligations to the populace" But not the *obligation* to sell to you what you want. That concept is called "free enterprise". You seem to think that you have a "right" to be sold what you desire. Nowhere in our Constitution do you have that right. ---------------------------- dmag, you sound like a reasonable woman; you raise some interesting discussion points. (1) Not all pro-lifers yell at people going into abortion clinics, let alone bomb them, kill the doctors, etc. Don't paint everyone with the evil acts of some. I have stood outside abortion clinics, silently praying the rosary for those who went in, the life they were carrying, and the staff inside the clinic. Not praying for malice, but for grace. (2) GOD has most certainly allowed you to think and act for yourself - he created you with the free will to do exactly that. Even to make the free will choice to act contrary to his will, in other words, to sin. But we, even as Catholics, don't get to decide for ourselves what the list of "sins" are. (3) The admonition "do not judge, lest ye be judged" is often used incorrectly, like you have done: to silence any criticism of behavior. What it really means is that we are not to condemn others for something, and then go ahead and do it ourselves. So it is perfectly acceptable, and expected, that we correct others for moral failures - recognizing that we too are not perfect, that we fail, and that we need correction too. It is never *wrong*, or judgmental, to point out where someone is being sinful (For example: 2-Timothy 4:2 and 3:16, Proverbs 12:1, 15:32).