Victory in Washington! State Pharmacy Board Upholds Rule That Ensures Access to Medication

In an unexpected victory last Thursday, the Washington state pharmacy board voted 5-1, with one abstention, to preserve a rule that requires pharmacies to provide all drugs, including emergency contraception, on-site and without delay.  If the rule had been changed, it could have led to allowing pharmacists to refuse to provide medications because of their personal beliefs. This would have limited patient access to medication and could have harmed sexual assault survivors, low-income women, and those individuals living in rural areas who do not have access to another pharmacy.

Since announcing that it would consider changing the existing rule, the state pharmacy board received more than 5,300 comments from the public, of which more than 80 percent favored keeping the existing rule in place. The existing rule represents a sensible policy, allowing pharmacists to refuse to provide medication as long as the patient receives the medication on-site, without discrimination or delay.

In 2007, two pharmacists and a pharmacy challenged the rule in Stormans et al. v. Selecky et al.  In that case, a federal court stopped enforcement of the rule so that pharmacies and pharmacists were only permitted to refuse to provide Plan B, an emergency contraceptive. The Ninth Circuit, in a strongly-worded decision, said that the rule could be enforced and sent the case back to district court.  The district court postponed the case while the state pharmacy board reconsidered the rule.  The board’s decision last Thursday ends the rule-making process, but unfortunately, it does not end the lawsuit.

By preserving the rule, the state pharmacy board ensures Washingtonians access to all medications, including emergency contraception.  We will keep monitoring this case and will keep you informed as it moves forward.