The Missouri House on Tuesday voted 115-43 to approve HB 226, an amendment that [s]pecifies that no pharmacy can be required to perform, assist, recommend, refer to, or participate in any act or service resulting in an abortion and it will be immune from liability for refusing to do so.
By definition, when it comes to women of reproductive age, refusing to provide professional services to patients you deem undesirable is an inalienable right. As such, there's nothing special about politicians enacting laws to shield medical professionals from liability. These politicians are just doing [insert deity of choice]'s work. (Hear that malpractice lawyers!)
What is remarkable about Missouri's HB 226 is that it represents a quantum leap forward from the noble pursuit of playing games with your untouchable patients' trust, dignity, and health without any professional or legal liability.
Like so:
No licensed pharmacy in this state shall be required to perform, assist, recommend, refer to, or participate in any act or service...
No duty to dispense drugs, talk to or advise patients, refer them to another pharmacist, or refrain from
...in connection with any drug or device that is an abortifacient, including but not limited to the RU486 drug and emergency contraception such as the Plan B drug...
No requirement to adhere to the professional standard of using science when dispensing drugs. (The medical definition of abortifacient is out, the personal definition is in.)
No duty to dispense drugs to *pregnant* patients, since most prescription medications are Category C. (Good luck with that asthma attack if you're a pregnant woman in Missouri!)
...not limited to the RU486 drug...
No requirement to stock or dispense a drug, RU-486, that cannot be legally stocked by pharmacies or dispensed by pharmacists to begin with.
No duty to provide pain meds or antibiotics to a patient who's been administered misoprostol and RU-486 by her physician, or, for that matter, to a patient who has an IUD, is already using birth control pills, or to men who are wearing tight underwear. (Hey, when you legislate science out of medicine, defining man panties as a device that is an abortifacient is perfectly valid.)
You tell me, what is more anti-communist than having the State grant a monopoly to an enterprise, remove duty and standard requirements, and then shield the entity from liability?
Here is the full text oh HB 226; read it and weep:
338.575. 1. No licensed pharmacy in this state shall be required to perform, assist, recommend, refer to, or participate in any act or service in connection with any drug or device that is an abortifacient, including but not limited to the RU486 drug and emergency contraception such as the Plan B drug.
2. No civil or criminal cause of action shall accrue against a pharmacy due to a refusal to perform, assist, recommend, refer for, or participate in any act or service in accordance with subsection 1 of this section.
3. No board, commission, or other agency or instrumentality of this state shall deny, revoke, suspend, or otherwise discipline the license of a pharmacy, nor shall it impose any other condition of operation due to a refusal to perform, assist, recommend, refer for, or participate in any act or service in accordance with subsection 1 of this section.
4. No pharmacy shall be denied or discriminated against in eligibility for or the receipt of any public benefit, assistance, or privilege of any kind due to a refusal to perform, assist, recommend, refer for, or participate in any act or service in accordance with subsection 1 of this section.
One last thing. I have a question for Rep. Ed Emery, Rep. Cynthia Davis, and all the other Missouri politicians who passed HB 226. Since you've removed the professional duty and standard requirements for the sale of drugs, can I haz street stand for the glorious, Capitalist selling of Plan B in your state?
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