Tag: contraceptives

Pharmacy Owners Prevail in Court Decision on Blagojevich Edict

~ Pharmer

Illinois Pharmacy Owners have emerged victorious after six years of litigation against  the state of  Illinois edict compelling them to dispense the morning after pill.

This comes shortly after the approval of a new morning after pill, Ella, which is an analog of RU486, mifepristone.

Francis J Manion of the ACLJ, and Mark Rienzi, of Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law  teamed up as counsel to the pharmacy owners.

Deposed Governor Blagojevich’s original order addressing individual pharmacists had previously been overturned.

Judge Belz  noted that the government had made no effort to advance it’s supposed interest in supplying morning after pills to women prior to April 2010, and had specifically targeted pharmacists of conscience and their religious beliefs.

Pharmacists for Life International has stored the original letter from Blagojevich which threatened pharmacists  with loss of their license to practice if they did not dispense the morning after pill and all other  hormonal birth control products and contraceptives upon demand.

The coverage in the Chicago Tribune is very brief, does not mention the newest morning after pill, and does not mention that the original order to the pharmacists was for them to dispense all drugs labeled as “contraceptives” though most are misbranded.  It does mention an expected  (hoped for) appeal to the case.

 

Bishop revokes Phoenix hospital’s ‘Catholic’ status

~ Pharmer

Bishop revokes Phoenix hospital’s ‘Catholic’ status.

He actually did it.    Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted stripped St. Joseph’s Medical Center, in Phoenix  of its Catholic affiliation.  This came after a scandal in 2009, concerning a widely publicized abortion which took place there.   That issue had already been  addressed, but  St. Joseph’s affiliation with the Mercy Care Plan , which provides care through the Arizona  state medicaid program,  required it to offer contraceptive counseling and other services antithetical to Catholic teachings.   This contractual arrangement is said to be the tipping point to cause the dissolution of the Catholic affiliation

Mass may no longer be said at the hospital, and the Blessed Sacrament is to be removed from the Chapel.

Watch the changes which occur at St. Joseph’s   in the aftermath of this “divorce” from Church affiliation.    Will the hospital attempt to re-affiliate, or will it rely upon a closer relationship with the government for survival.  Certainly the loss of Catholic affiliation will affect private donations to the Medical Center.