In the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, the Biden administration considered a series of policy measures related to abortion rights, and one of the most notable involved messages to pharmacists.
In fact, just three weeks after the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization came down, administration officials took care to remind pharmacies not to refuse to fill prescription orders related to reproductive care.
“Under federal civil rights law, pregnancy discrimination includes discrimination based on current pregnancy, past pregnancy, potential or intended pregnancy, and medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth,” the guidance read. The Department of Health and Human Services sent the message to more than 60,000 retail pharmacies.
The concerns were hardly speculative. As NPR reported at the time, “HHS officials distributed to reporters a compilation of news stories about pharmacists refusing to fill doctors’ prescriptions in states that have restricted abortion after the Supreme Court ruling on June 24, such as Louisiana, but also in states where abortion is still legal, like Virginia.”
None of this escaped the attention of House Republicans. Politico reported yesterday:
House Republicans are introducing a bill today to roll back recent Biden administration guidance that warns the nation’s pharmacies of legal and financial consequences if they refuse to dispense abortion or contraception medication. The “Pharmacist Conscience Protection Act,” led by Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) and first shared with POLITICO, would give pharmacists freer rein to refuse to provide medication they suspect could be used to terminate a pregnancy.
Remember, in recent months, there have been too many instances of pharmacists refusing to fill valid prescriptions because of concerns related to reproductive health. Some pharmacies, for example, have refused to dispense methotrexate — which is often used to treat cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and autoimmune diseases — because it can also be used to end dangerous ectopic pregnancies. It’s against this backdrop that the White House is effectively telling pharmacists, “Valid prescriptions must be filled.” House Republicans find the administration’s efforts outrageous, and instead want to pass legislation to “protect” pharmacists who don’t want to fill prescriptions they don’t like. The Biden administration’s priority is to ensure that patients receive the medications their medical providers prescribed. House Republicans’ priority is to look after the pharmacists who want to balk at filling prescriptions. To be sure, the “Pharmacist Conscience Protection Act” will not be considered in a Democratic-led Congress, but for those wondering what to expect in the event of Republican majorities on Capitol Hill, this is the sort of policy fight Americans can expect to see.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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