When certain U.S. Senators first started murmuring about refusing to vote for any nominee that President Obama nominated to fill the late Justice Scalia’s Supreme Court seat, the public responded with a rallying cry: do your job.
We agree wholeheartedly. But this “do your job” sentiment isn’t new to us. Back in 2007, Washington’s pharmacy rules that ensure patients have timely access to medication went into effect. Shortly thereafter, Stormans Inc. and two pharmacists sued the state, claiming that the rules violated their religious freedoms since they were religiously opposed to stocking and filling prescriptions for emergency contraception.
Our response? Pharmacists, do your job.
But now, more than 10 years after we advocated for strong pharmacy rules in Washington, those very rules are at risk of being challenged in the U.S. Supreme Court. The plaintiffs in Stormans v. Wiesman asked the Supreme Court to review the unanimous Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision, which affirmed that patients’ rights—not pharmacists’ religious beliefs—come first.
Legal Voice replied to the petition for review, asking the Court not to take up this case. If the Supreme Court lets the Ninth Circuit decision stand, this decade-long case will come to an end. And if not, Legal Voice is headed to the Supreme Court!
We will let you know what the Court decides. But regardless of the outcome, you can be sure that we will keep doing our job: fighting for your right to access safe, legal, and necessary health care.
