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the pharmacist is the judge of the patients needs. In fact, the two things I found most interesting about the Code of Ethics were numbers one through three in which the relationship between the patient and the pharmacist is discussed. Nowhere is the pharmacist to place their own moral or religious values above that of the patient, in fact in number 3 the pharmacist is reminded to respect the patient's personal and cultural differences. The only conclusion to be drawn from this is based upon the pharmacist Code of Ethics they do not have the right to refuse to dispense any drug, including prophylactics or the morning after pill.

To close it seems that there are three separate components of the argument. The first is can an employee refuse to carry out the duties of their position based on their personal religious convictions; the answer to this is absolutely not. The second argument is can a private business owner determine what will be sold in his place of business; the answer is absolutely yes. The final argument is should a pharmacist be held to their Code of Ethics and their Oath; this is a more difficult answer as the pharmacist is not a doctor and they are not in truth putting a patient at risk through their refusal unless they are they only pharmacy in town.

Should there be professional boards that review these breaches of ethics and potentially strip licenses from those who refuse to live up to their Oaths and their professional Codes of Ethics? I would say yes, a person who is not fully able or willing to carry out their professional duties should find a profession that will not challenge their personal beliefs. Clearly when a pharmacist places their personal beliefs above those of the patient they seem to be in conflict with the oath they took and in conflict with their Code of Ethics. However, should a pharmacist be forced to violate religious beliefs, well no certainly not. They should however seek a different vocation if they cannot serve the public they have taken an oath to respect and provide services to without judgment.

http://www.uspharmd.c om/pharmacist/Pharmacist_Oath_ and_Code_of_Ethics.html

http:// caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-in/ getcase.pl?friend=usatoday%23f 13&court=us&vol=111&am p;invol=746

http://www.loc.gov/ rr/program/bib/ourdocs/DeclarI nd.html

http://memory.loc.gov/c gi-bin/ampage?collId=llsl& fileName=001/llsl001.db&re cNum=144

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