In late October, the Nevada Board of Pharmacy considered the issue of allowing pharmacists the right to deny a prescription for medication they cannot in good conscience fill.
“At stake is the right of patients to obtain prescribed medication from their local pharmacist versus the right of pharmacists to abide by their moral or religious convictions,” we said in a news release.
We drew attention to the constitutional issue involved: “Justice demands that the rights of pharmacists be honored. It is one thing to be inconvenienced by having to shop around, quite another to have one’s religious convictions violated by the state. Put differently, there is no constitutional right to being conveniently serviced, but there is a constitutional right to religious liberty. And all religious liberties begin with the right of conscience.”
We contacted the Nevada Board of Pharmacy on October 24 about our concerns. The next hearing is December 8 in Reno.
