To think if a pharmacist refuses to dispense medication due to religious or personal beliefs

[Soubriquet]

They shouldn’t be a pharmacist.

I mean, the morning after pill is healthcare. Your personal or religious beliefs shouldn’t come into this.

I is this even a thing ?

Sadly, yes. I experienced it about 20 years ago in my 30s living in London andcwas denied the MAP. Fortunately, finding another pharmacy in London wasn't hard. Far harder in smaller communities .

No reputable organisation still suggests that the MAP prevents implantation. It ONLY prevents fertilisation.

It is the case that its mechanism wasn't well understood and there was a theory that it also could prevent implantation. That's no longer true.

If you've already ovulated then the MAP won't work, but obviously you still might not conceive since not all unprotected sex results in pregnancy.

Having a coil fitted can prevent implantation of a fertilised egg. That's a completely different thing though.

The vast majority of women have never needed the MAP and the number of pharmacists who won’t dispense it is miniscule

How can you say that with any conviction? I would hazard a guess a majority of women have used the MAP at some point. I can't imagine there are many pharmacists who won't dispense but even a small number can cause significant problems with the numbers they deal with daily, weekly, monthly.

A quick Google shows: one in five British women between 18 and 35 takes the morning after pill each year. That's not really a vast majority, is it?

It means 80% don’t. You’re absolutely right 20% isn’t a vast majority.

There’s guidance / policy 🤷 from the GPhC about this very scenario. The patient’s needs always come first. The GPhC would want to know that any pharmacist refusing to sell the MAP have followed those guidelines if there were a complaint.

https://www.pharmacyregulation.org/about-us/news-and-updates/regulate/religion-personal-values-and-beliefs-providing-emergency-hormonal-contraception

Have you actually read it though? Lots of talk of person centred care, equality and diversity, respecting others beliefs and values; all very nice inclusive fluffy sounding phrases that don't actually mean anything. I war hoping for something a little more substantial!

You won’t get anything more definitive from the GPhC I’m afraid :/ if any patient has been inconvenienced or their treatment delayed that’s a huge fuck up and I’d report it. But I’ve lost my place on what actually happened so I’ll read the OP again before I add anything else to the thread 😅

80% don't in any given year. I can't find anything about the numbers who might use the MAP from 18 to menopause.

I don't believe 20% of women are receiving the MAP every single year.

Agree. If that was true surely an information campaign would be launched to educate men about using a condom. This should happen in any case. Why don’t some men take responsibility for their actions.

This stat appears to be from a survey conducted by the manufacturer of EllaOne. Some bias could be suspected. CDC reference here that I believe would be more reliable, although American. "Among women aged 22–49 years who have ever had sexual intercourse, 24.3% have ever used emergency contraception". That stat sounds far more realistic.

Yes, I think that statistic is much more likely.