Philadelphia, PA-September 23, 2022- Catholic Medical Association supports the rights of pharmacists in all settings to refuse to provide pharmaceutical services that conflict with their conscience and/or religious beliefs.

With the ever-changing landscape of laws and regulations governing pharmacy practice, the CMA wishes to bring clarity to issues which significantly affect pharmacists.

In response to the HHS “Guidance to Nation’s Retail Pharmacies”, the CMA opposes any attempts to undermine the religious freedoms of pharmacists by characterizing refusal to fill based on one’s conscience as discrimination. While HHS and OCR have responsibilities of enforcement of civil rights, a “right to contraception” or a “right to emergency contraception” does not exist.

Additionally, the examples provided in the document which insinuate what must be stocked in a pharmacy lest it be considered discrimination are an egregious affront to independent pharmacy owners, who operate within the regulations of their states and who wish to avoid providing services that violate their conscience and religious beliefs.

HHS side-steps the protections afforded by the Church Amendments to all healthcare personnel to be free of discrimination for refusing to assist in abortion, sterilization, or to be free of forced participation in any part of a Federally funded health service program.

Much like physicians who do not wish to provide methods which they judge as harmful or immoral, or nurses who do not wish to assist in such situations, determinations by pharmacists not to fill a prescription for reasons of conscience does not constitute discrimination. Rather, it demonstrates the just decision of a pharmacist to only partake in actions which they deem to be in accordance with the patient’s and society’s good.

The professional practice of pharmacy, like medicine, requires accountability of practitioners to ensure positive patient outcomes through balancing the multitude of complex factors involved in each service they provide.

Pharmacist practitioners must retain the freedom to practice in accordance with their values and beliefs in order to maintain a therapeutic relationship of trust between them and their patients.

CMA wishes to recognize our pharmacist members, and those outside of our organization who object to cooperation in any act they deem immoral. CMA is dedicated to protecting all healthcare professionals involved in the medication use process.

CMA calls on every state legislature to enact strong conscience rights and religious freedom protections for their state’s pharmacists. The CMA and its many like-minded partner organizations are committed to this fight for conscience rights and religious freedom.