Columbus, Ohio, Jul 19, 2007 / 08:24 am
A new survey conducted by Baraga Interactive has found that a large percentage of U.S. adults favor optional coverage for birth control and support pharmacists in their right to exercise their conscience when asked to fill a prescription or give counseling about drugs.
Sixty-one percent of those polled said they support no health insurance coverage for contraceptives; 65 percent of those polled support a pharmacist's right to decline to fill or counsel for prescription drugs, which may violate their religious, moral and ethical beliefs.
The survey of 1,249 adults confirmed a similar Medscape study in 2005 whereby a slightly higher percentage of US adults — 69 percent — supported a pharmacist’s right of conscience.
Currently, pharmacists of conscience practice with great difficulty in California, Illinois and Washington, which have mandatory “fill or fine” laws.