Pharmacies in Missouri would be shielded from
requirements to stock specific drugs, such as emergency contraception,
if legislation passed Thursday by the Senate ultimately becomes law.The
measure, which was sent to the House by a 24-9 Senate vote, was touted
by its sponsor as a way to protect the rights of business owners.
“You
go into a clothing store, and they can stock whatever they want to. I
just want to make sure that pharmacies have the same right to do that,”
said sponsoring Sen. David Sater, a Republican pharmacist from the
southwest Missouri town of Cassville. “It’s a freedom of doing
business.”
Although
the legislation doesn’t specifically mention birth control, Sater said
his measure was prompted by efforts elsewhere to require pharmacies to
fill particular prescriptions such as emergency contraception.
Some Democrats said that’s why they opposed the legislation.
“I
understand the business side of this … that it’s important that
pharmacies be able to stock those drugs that they are going to be
using,” said Senate Minority Leader Jolie Justus, D-Kansas City. But
“there are a few of us who have concerns that this might be used by
folks to not stock birth control, or what’s commonly known as Plan B.”
The
morning-after pill is basically a high-dose version of birth control
pills that prevents ovulation if taken within a few days after sex.
Because a prescription is required for those younger than 17, it is sold
from behind pharmacy counties at a cost of around $35 to $60 a dose.
According
to the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit group that tracks laws on
reproductive health, five states have laws requiring pharmacies or
pharmacists to fill valid prescriptions, though courts in two of those
states have ruled that the law cannot be enforced against pharmacies
that refuse to dispense emergency contraception.
A
greater number of states have laws specifically allowing pharmacies or
pharmacists to refuse to dispense emergency contraception.
Missouri law currently is silent on the topic.
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