Alternative Burdens on Freedom of Conscience

Adam J. Kolber

San Diego Law Review
San Diego Law Review

Abstract
Suppose a pharmacist refuses to dispense pills that induce abortion claiming that dispensing such pills runs counter to principles he holds dear. Indeed, the pharmacist claims that forcing him to dispense the pills would violate his freedom of conscience. He even claims that he would not have become a pharmacist had he foreseen an obligation to dispense such pills at the time he entered his profession. Should the pharmacist’s job be protected if he is making a bona fide claim of conscience? And does it matter whether the pharmacist’s objection to dispensing the pills is rooted in religious or nonreligious reasons?


Kolber AJ. Alternative Burdens on Freedom of Conscience, 47 San Diego L. Rev. 919 (2010).