Mother Denied Pill by Muslim Pharmacist

According to the Telegraph ten days ago, a woman was refused a morning-after pill by a Tesco duty pharmacist because it was against his religious beliefs.

Ruth Johnson, 33, who has two children, including a month-old baby, had not been using her usual method of contraception with her fiancée.

She went to the Tesco dispensary in Hewitts Circus, Cleethorpes, Lincs, and asked an as assistant for the pill Levanelle.

Miss Johnson was told it could only be dispensed by the locum pharmacist who was called to speak with her.

She said: “He came out from behind a screen and told me that he would not be allowing me to buy the pill from him because he had a right to refuse to sell it on the basis of his personal beliefs.

“The pharmacist was of Asian origin so I asked him if it was because of his religion and he replied ‘Yes’.”

Miss Johnson, from Cleethorpes, was left feeling ashamed and worried and complained to the store manager who told her they couldn’t force the pharmacist to sell the product.

She said: “I asked him if a Jewish or Muslim checkout operator could refuse to sell pork or alcohol or if a Jehovah’s Witness could refuse to sell birthday and Christmas cards.”

Her concern is that the policy could deter teenage girls from seeking the morning-after pill.

“I appreciate we live in a multi-cultural society but what gives him the right to impose his beliefs onto me?” she added.

As it stands, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s code of ethics allows pharmacists the right to refuse drugs on their opinion. It was the pharmacists opinion that the woman should not have the emergency contraceptive. I wonder how the Royal Pharmaceutical Society would react if a pharmacist refused to serve a Muslim customer because their opinion is that Muslims should be denied drugs?

My suggestion to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society: Your code of conduct is laughable and should be changed to reflect the needs and values of a fair and just western democracy and not those of the medieval middle east. I wonder why exactly this particular pharmacist (who has not been named) sought a profession in which he knew he would be called upon to provide healthcare in conflict with his personal beliefs. I am inclined to weigh the evidence and come to the conclusion that this particular pharmacist has no care or duty for his customers perhaps preferring to think of them as kuffar than patient. I wonder if moderate Muslims are offended by this guy and I wonder further if we will see a public display of “He doesn’t speak for us” coming from the Muslim Council of Britain.

Furthermore, would it be wrong of Tesco to now discriminate against employing future Muslim pharmacists on the basis that they are going to provide a lesser degree of customer service than say a Hindu, Jew or Christian worker?

I wonder. Am I right?