Stephanie Schulz
PHT 101B
Oct 11, 2014
Case study #1

In July of 2002 Pharmacist Neil Noesen , who worked at a K-Mart pharmacy in Menomonie, Wisconsin, refused to fill a birth control prescription for a University of Wisconsin student. Neil Noesen explain he was a Roman Catholic and it was against his moral and religious beliefs. Not only did he refuse to fill the prescription, he also refused to transfer the prescription to another pharmacy, or inform the patient where she could get the prescription filled. This case deals with Conscience Clauses, which are legal clauses attached to laws in parts of the United States which permit pharmacists, physicians, and other providers of healthcare not to provide certain medical services for reasons of religion or conscience (Wikipedia Contributors). Other parts of the United States have laws that force Pharmacists to dispense medication, regardless of religious beliefs, or face penalties. Both of these laws affect not only the pharmacist, but also the pharmacy technicians. Pharmacy technicians should know which laws apply to their state and the views of the pharmacist they work for. Ballington and Anderson (2014) explain that, although the technician carries out many of the duties traditionally performed by the pharmacist, the pharmacist must always check the technicians work. The pharmacist then takes final responsibility for the pharmacy technicians actions. Regardless of the technicians views, they must carry out their roles and responsibilities of filling prescriptions following all laws, regulations, and orders of the pharmacist. The medication in question in this case is birth control, which is mainly used as a contraceptive drug to prevent pregnancy. There are many ethical issues surrounding this medication. Religion is one of the main ethical issues regarding birth control. Many believe that pregnancy prevention is against their morals. Another ethical issue regarding birth control is increased "unacceptable" sexual behavior. Family financial issues are another large ethical issue, which brings into question if a family or single person can