Another woman denied contraception by religious pharmacist

A Sheffield woman has been denied contraception by a pharmacist who claimed it was against her religion to fulfil the doctor’s prescription for the pills.

The incident took place at a Lloyds Pharmacy when Janine Deeley presented her prescription for the pills and was told by the pharmacist: “I don’t give out contraceptive pills because of my religion.”

Ms Deeley, from Wybourn , Sheffield, said : “I couldn’t believe the arrogance of the woman . Who is she to refuse to give me properly prescribed legal drugs?”

A spokeswoman for Lloyds pharmacy said an investigation had been launched: “We are very sorry Ms Deeley was refused supply of her prescribed contraceptive pill at our Duke Street pharmacy. We have launched an investigation into the incident and been in contact with her to apologise for any distress and inconvenience caused.”

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) said pharmacists were obliged to serve the interests of patients first. A spokesperson explained: “While the Code of Ethics and Standards does not require a pharmacist to provide a service that is contrary to their religious or moral beliefs, any attempt by a pharmacist to impose their beliefs on a member of the public seeking their professional guidance, or a failure to have systems in place to advise of alternative sources for the service required, would be of great concern to the RPSGB and could form the basis of a complaint of professional misconduct.”

Keith Porteous Wood, Executive Director of the National Secular Society, said: “It is the RPSGB’s code of ethics that is the problem here. It gives any bigot carte blanche to claim that their “religious conscience” is reason enough to deny other people their legal rights.”

Mr Wood said: “We have complained repeatedly about this and have pointed out that, particularly in relation to emergency contraception, someone living in a rural area might have difficulty finding an alternative source of supply at short notice.”

He said that the Royal Pharmaceutical Society needs to review its Code of Ethics urgently and stop this abuse. “If pharmacists don’t want to do their job in its entirety, they should find another job. We believe that pharmacists operating under NHS contracts should be obliged to dispense any legal pharmaceutical product, regardless of pharmacist’s religious views.”