When Two Fundamental Rights Collide at the Pharmacy: The Struggle to Balance the Consumer’s Right to Access Contraception and the Pharmacist’s Right of Conscience

Suzanne Davis, Paul Lansing

DePaul Journal of Health Care Law
DePaul Journal of Health Care Law

Extract
Conclusion

In conclusion, we think that the marketplace of ideas should be allowed to function on this issue. So long as consumers have access to distribution channels for emergency contraception and to information regarding where the drug is available, there is no reason why the market would fail to reconcile this dilemma. However, if Wilson is correct that governments will not be able to fight the urge to take an active role in this dispute, then freedom of conscience should be the paramount fundamental right. This determination is necessary to provide the proper balance of rights because placing an affirmative duty on pharmacists to dispense a drug negates the basic premises on which our nation is built and only avoids a slight inconvenience to consumers who desire emergency contraception. Finally, it is important for governments to recognize that there are sound arguments on both sides of this legal debate and that an in depth analysis of the ethical and public policy ramifications of regulation on this issue is absolutely necessary.


Davis S, Lansing P. When Two Fundamental Rights Collide at the Pharmacy: The Struggle to Balance the Consumer’s Right to Access Contraception and the Pharmacist’s Right of Conscience. 12 Depaul J. Health Care L. 67, 89-91 (2009)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *