Kevin Storman owned a number of Thriftway stores in the Olympia area of Washington State. He decided to back his pharmacists decision (at Ralph’s Thriftway) to avoid stocking and dispensing the Plan B morning after pill.
This sent governor Christine Gregoire into a foaming frenzy of involving herself in a boycott of the stores, and threatening to fire members of the Washington Board of Pharmacy if they backed the freedom of pharmacists to conscientiously object to dispensing this abortive drug.
In 2009, a federal judge decided in favor of the store owners and pharmacists but that ruling was struck down on appeal and the case was remanded back to the district court.
Recently a request for summary judgment, from the Governor, was turned down, and trial was scheduled to resume in Federal District Court in Tacoma, Washington.
This past Wednesday, July 7, the Board’s lawyers signaled that there would be regulations enacted to protect pharmacists who would not dispense this drug, providing that they would refer the patient elsewhere.
Curiosity has arisen as to the reason behind a Gregoire Administration reversal of policy regarding the pharmacists.
Gregoire, being crazy-pro-abortion enough, was on the Obama Short List for Souter’s position on the U.S. Supreme court, but this position eventually went to Sotomayor.
Elena Kagan is the likely leftist body to fill the open position on the Supreme Court left by liberal Justice John Stevens. Gregoire is on the list to possibly occupy the solicitor general vacancy left by Kagan should she be confirmed.
From the Becket Fund: http://www.becketfund.org/files/final%20response%20to%20msj.pdf
