OLYMPIA Health officials have dismissed some complaints that a pharmacy refused to stock “morning-after” birth control pills, but regulators still could sanction the drug store.
The state Board of Pharmacy on Friday dismissed about half of some 20 complaints against Ralph’s Thriftway of Olympia. Store owners refuse to stock the morning-after pill in their pharmacy, citing moral objections.
Pharmacy Board officials said the dismissed claims weren’t valid because they were lodged before a new state rule took effect, clarifying drug stores’ obligation to stock medications.
Women’s rights activists criticized the step.
“How many complaints are required before patients’ needs are met?” Olympia activist Janet Blanding said in a joint statement with NARAL Pro-Choice Washington.
But the board noted it would continue investigating the remaining complaints, which could end in sanctions, including possible suspension of the store’s pharmacy license.
“This decision was based on the rules that were in place at the time of the complaint,” director Steve Saxe said. “The board has since approved tighter rules on the responsibilities of pharmacies to serve their customers.”
The complaints against Ralph’s are part of an ongoing flap over the sale of the morning-after pill, which is marketed by Barr Pharmaceuticals Inc. as Plan B.
Barr says Plan B, a high dose of a drug found in many regular birth-control pills, can lower the risk of pregnancy by as much as 89 percent if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex.
Some critics consider the pill tantamount to abortion, although Barr says it has no effect on women who are pregnant.
The Food and Drug Administration approved Plan B for over-the-counter sale to people 18 and older last year, and Barr began distributing the over-the-counter version in November.
New state rules that took effect July 26 say druggists can’t refuse to fill a lawful prescription for Plan B or anything else because of their own moral objections.
The rules also clarified that pharmacies are generally required to stock medications their customers ask for. The regulations were negotiated and strongly backed by Gov. Chris Gregoire.
Stormans Inc., the company that operates Ralph’s, is one of three plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit challenging those new state regulations. The family-owned company has faced protests because of its stance.
“They’ve kind of re-upped their efforts lately after we filed the suit,” company co-owner Kevin Stormans said. “They have a position of belief that they think is right, and they have a right to be able to express that, like we do.”
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