Pubdate: Tue, May 18 1999 Source: Oregonian, The (OR) Copyright: 1999 The Oregonian Contact: 1320 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97201 Fax: 503-294-4193 Website: http://www.oregonlive.com/ Forum: http://forums.oregonlive.com/ Author: Jeff Mapes, the Oregonian HOUSE VOTES AGAINST PHARMACISTS IN ETHICAL, RELIGIOUS CASE * Critics say HB2010 could make it hard for women in rural areas to get emergency contraception drugs SALEM -- As opponents argued that it could hurt access by women to "morning after" contraception drugs, the Oregon House voted down a bill Monday aimed at allowing pharmacists to refuse to fill some kinds of prescriptions on religious or ethical grounds. Critics said the measure could have made it particularly hard for women in small towns and rural areas to get access to emergency contraception drugs that must be taken within 72 hours of sexual intercourse. House Bill 2010 was sought by the Oregon State Pharmacists Association, which wanted to give its members broader rights to refuse to fill prescriptions for emergency contraception and for RU-486, the abortion drug that may be on the U.S. market by year's end. The measure also would have reiterated pharmacists' right to refuse to provide drugs used in Oregon's assisted-suicide law, which already allows health care providers to refuse to participate in a person's suicide. The pharmacists' association brought the bill to the Legislature after Fred Meyer fired a pharmacist late last year in a dispute about a prescription for Preven, a new emergency contraception drug. Fred Meyer and other large pharmacies allow pharmacists to decline to fill some prescriptions, but they are supposed to make sure someone else does. Several legislators said they objected because the bill didn't ensure that pharmacists who declined to fill a prescription would actively work to find another pharmacist who would. Rep. Rob Patridge, R-Medford, said he thought it was a basic obligation of professionals to make sure a customer's needs are met, even if they can't do so themselves for moral reasons. But Rep. Bill Witt, R-Cedar Mill, said it could be a mortal sin for a member of the Catholic Church to even assist a patient in finding a pharmacist to fill a prescription for a drug that caused an abortion. Opponents of abortion oppose emergency contraception drugs because they can prevent the implantation of a fertilized egg. The measure also ran into trouble because some critics said the wording was ambiguous enough to allow pharmacists to refuse to fill any prescription -- such as birth-control pills -- on moral grounds. Tom Holt, a pharmacists' association lobbyist, said that was not the legislation's intent. Activists on both sides of the abortion debate heavily lobbied the House. Gayle Atteberry of Oregon Right to Life said that by voting down the bill, the House was saying "not only is it legal (to use these drugs), but people who morally object to it may be forced to. . . . That is not what America is about." She scoffed at the idea that some women may not have access to emergency contraception, saying that no one in Oregon "is farther away than 72 hours to a drugstore that would fill this." Maura Roche, a Planned Parenthood lobbyist, countered that the bill could have caused real access problems to women who may not see a doctor for a day or so after unprotected sex. "They might end up having to drive a great distance and get into a real time crunch," she said. "It's especially horrible when you think about cases of rape and incest." Initially, the measure failed on a 33-27 vote. Witt and Rep. Mark Simmons, R-Elgin, then changed to the winning side so they could try to bring the bill back up today. Reps. Jackie Winters, R-Salem, and Jerry Krummel, R-Wilsonville, also changed to vote against the bill after it was clear the bill had lost. Holt, the pharmacists' lobbyist, said he did not know whether proponents would try to revive the bill today, either to send it back to committee for more work or to see whether they could drum up enough votes to get it passed. You can reach Jeff Mapes at 503-221-8209 or by e-mail --- MAP posted-by: Derek Rea