National Women's Law Center

Refusals to fill prescriptions for contraception and to provide emergency contraception (EC) over-the-counter are an increasing problem across the country. These refusals are based on personal beliefs, not on legitimate medical or professional concerns. Refusals to provide contraception constitute a serious erosion of reproductive rights and impede women's access to critical health care. Refusals are particularly burdensome to rural and low-income women, who may be unable to travel to another pharmacy to have their prescriptions filled without considerable hardship. Furthermore, long-distance travel to an alternative pharmacy may not be feasible when a woman is seeking to fill a prescription for EC, which is a time-sensitive drug. And often times, the same pharmacists who refuse to fill lawful prescriptions for contraception also refuse to transfer them to another pharmacy or refer women elsewhere for the contraception they need.

Despite the FDA's decision to make EC available without a prescription to women age 17 and older, refusals are still a problem. Under the FDA's conditions, EC is still kept behind the counter, so even women who do not need a prescription must interact with pharmacy personell who may have strong beliefs against providing the drug.

The National Women's Law Center's Pharmacy Refusal Project addresses pharmacy refusals through a variety of strategies. The Center is developing legal approaches to secure the right to access contraception at the pharmacy; providing technical assistance to individuals who have been denied contraception; aiding state and federal advocates in establishing policies protecting access to contraception and fighting legislation that obstructs women's access to contraception; and educating the public about the issues of pharmacy refusal.

If you or someone you know has been denied EC or another contraceptive, please share your story with NWLC. We can advise you about applicable laws in your state, strategize the best way to deal with what happened to you, and ensure that other women won't face the same problem. We also are compiling a register of pharmacy refusal incidents from across the nation to document the scope of the problem.

Pharmacy Refusals: What You Should Know
In our new What's At Stake series, NWLC Senior Counsel Gretchen Borchelt explores the problem of pharmacists who refuse to fill valid prescriptions for contraception or sell over-the-counter emergency contraception.

Partners in Access: A Toolkit for Working with State Pharmacy Boards to Stop Refusals in the Pharmacy
State advocates can play a key role in stopping refusals in the pharmacy by working with their state pharmacy boards. Check out the toolkit NWLC has developed to help state advocates work with their state pharmacy boards.

Legal Guide to Pharmacy Refusals

Don't Take "NO" for an Answer: A Guide to Pharmacy Refusal Laws, Policies and Practices (January 2007 update)

Map of Laws & Bills Governing Pharmacist Refusals

Refusals: State Laws, Regulations, and Policies (July 2009)

Pharmacy Refusal Project Fact Sheets

Pharmacy Refusals 101 (July 2009)
Purchasing Emergency Contraception Over-the-Counter - Barriers to Access Remain (November 2009)
Drugstore Dilemma: What to do if Your Pharmacy Won't Give You Birth Control Pills or Emergency Contraception (the "Morning-After Pill") (November 2009)

For more information on religious restrictions in health care generally, visit NWLC's Religious Restrictions webpage. And check out the Center's consumer education brochure to make consumers aware of potential limits to their health care services:
ASK! Will the moral or religious beliefs of your health care providers limit your access to health care?

In June 2007, Congresswoman Maloney and Senator Lautenberg introduced the Access to Birth Control Act. The bill would require pharmacies that stock contraceptives to ensure that a woman seeking birth control - including non-prescription EC - would get it without discrimination and without delay.
" Read the statement of Judy Waxman, NWLC Vice President for Health and Reproductive Rights at a press conference announcing the bill (June 6, 2007).

Read the National Women's Law Center's comments to pharmacy boards on proposed rules governing pharmacy refusals in:

Delaware (September 2007)
Iowa (March 2007)
Washington (December 2006)
Nevada (December 19, 2005)
Nevada (December 5, 2005)
Wyoming (October 2005)

Illinois

National Women's Law Center's Comments on "Notice of Rights Regarding the Dispensing of Contraceptives" (May 24, 2006)
NWLC Applauds Illinois Committee for Making Pharmacy Contraceptive Access Rule Permanent (August 16, 2005)
Read the National Women's Law Center's Comment on "Duty of Division I Pharmacy to Dispense Contraceptives" (June 2, 2005)

Washington

Read the National Women's Law Center amicus brief in Stormans v. Selecky, the lawsuit challenging the rules passed by the Washington pharmacy board that require pharmacies to ensure that patients receive their lawfully prescribed medication.

Wal-Mart Responds to Pressure from NWLC and Changes Its Policy on Emergency Contraception (March 3, 2006)

Read the June 2008 Washington Post article on "pro-life" pharmacies that refuse to stock or dispense any form of contraception.
Read the May 2007 article on the continuing problem of pharmacist refusals after over-the-counter approval of EC. It appeared in the Fort Wayne Sentinel and other papers across the country.
Read the front page article on pharmacist refusals from the March 28, 2005 edition of The Washington Post: "Pharmacists' Rights at Front of New Debate: Because of Beliefs, Some Refuse to Fill Birth Control Prescriptions" (Please note that the graphic in this article is now out of date; for an updated version of this information, please see the Center's map of pharmacy bills and laws, referenced above.)
Read the Center's letter to the editor from the March 3, 2005 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine on the subject of Pharmacists and Emergency Contraception.
The following appeared in the East Valley Tribune (Arizona) op-ed section on February 2, 2005: Religion and Medicine: Put Health Over Faith