Robert A Buerki
Extract
Conscience is a tricky business. Some interpret its personal beacon as the guide to universal truth. But the assumption that one’s own conscience is the conscience of the world is fraught with dangers. As C. S. Lewis wrote, “Those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.” As nations become more ethnically and religiously diverse, and science and medicine develop new and more complex health interventions, new forms of conscientious objections are likely to emerge. Conscientious objection is not simply a matter for individual pharmacists; it is a matter that must engage the entire profession of pharmacy and society as a whole. Professional associations, boards of pharmacy, and state legislatures must work together to prevent patients from bearing the burdens of excusing pharmacists from delivering the full measure of pharmaceutical care.
Buerki RA. The Conscience Clause in American Pharmacy: An Historical Overview. Pharmacy in History. 2008;50(3):107-118.