Aitkin County jury finds for pharmacist who declined to fill birth control prescription

The front-page headline in Monday's paper "Morning-after pill denied; suit follows" baffled me. How can a valid prescription be denied? But as I read the details of that article and the follow-up articles throughout the week, I went from baffled to angry. Andrea Anderson's request never should have been denied. The fact that her suit against the pharmacist resulted in a jury trial costing Minnesota taxpayers money should make us all angry, but more importantly the fact that her sexual history and her personal/confidential therapy records were brought up as part of the defense is outrageous and should scare every one of us no matter where your reproductive opinions lie.

Here is what matters: Is Ella a legal/approved drug? Yes. Was the prescription written by an authorized/licensed provider? Yes. Is Thrifty White in the business of filling prescriptions? Yes. Did Thrifty White hire George Badeaux as a pharmacist whose responsibilities include filling valid prescriptions? Yes. Did Badeaux fulfill his responsibility by filling Anderson's valid prescription? No. Case closed.

How Badeaux felt about the actual drugs or the effects of the prescriptions presented to him was irrelevant. If he applied for and accepted a job as a pharmacist, he needed to fulfill all of the job, not just the parts he liked. No one was making him take this job. If it didn't align with his beliefs, he could have chosen another line of work. And if Thrifty White wanted to support Badeaux's decision to not fill certain legal/valid prescriptions, as a condition of operating as a pharmacy, it should be required to have another pharmacist on duty at all times to fill the prescriptions that Badeaux refuses to. They too had a responsibility to fulfill here.

Badeaux stated that he is a Christian and respects every human being. The only human being on the other side of this case is Anderson, and Badeaux did not respect her or her right to obtain a legal, validly prescribed medication.

(a) It is an unfair discriminatory practice:
(1) to deny any person the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations of a place of public accommodation because of race, color, creed, religion, disability, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, or sex...

"Sex" includes, but is not limited to, pregnancy, childbirth, and disabilities related to pregnancy or childbirth...

"Place of public accommodation" means a business, accommodation, refreshment, entertainment, recreation, or transportation facility of any kind, whether licensed or not, whose goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages or accommodations are extended, offered, sold, or otherwise made available to the public...

"Sex" includes, but is not limited to, pregnancy, childbirth, and disabilities related to pregnancy or childbirth...