A woman has been refused a prescription for a contraceptive pill at a pharmacy after a worker claimed he could not sell it to her due to “religious beliefs”.
Wendy, who is a registered nurse, went to a pharmacy in Sydney on May 29 to pick up two of her prescriptions, one of which was her Yaz birth control pill.
After waiting 30 minutes for her prescriptions, Wendy was called to the counter to pay and saw Yaz’s box and another medication in her basket.
However, a pharmacist took over after Wendy asked for a receipt for her items so she could claim half the costs.
Wendy said she assumed the man was printing her a receipt, but was then told she couldn’t buy the medication because it had expired.
Wendy, who works as a registered nurse, visited a pharmacy in Sydney to pick up two prescriptions, including her Yaz oral contraceptive.
The pharmacy refused to sell her the item, claiming that the contraceptive had expired. Wendy asked to order Yaz and was told the pharmacy doesn’t carry it due to “religious beliefs” (stock image of a pharmacy)
He then asked the pharmacist to order it, to which another pharmacist stepped in and said “no.”
‘Another pharmacist steps in and simply says; ‘No, we didn’t order it. We don’t have this. We do not dispense it. We don’t do that here,’ Wendy said. news.com.au.
She added that the pharmacy told her it does not “provide oral contraceptives.”
Wendy paid for her other prescription and left because she was late for work, claiming to have felt judged by the staff.
The next day, a man claiming to be the co-owner of the pharmacy called Wendy to apologize for her experience.
He told her that the pharmacy did not carry any type of contraception due to “religious beliefs,” adding that he understood why some people choose to take the pill, but that the pharmacy “just doesn’t supply it.”
Wendy said the man informed her that the pharmacist should not have taken the prescription off the shelf and put it in her basket because it was about to expire.
He said Yaz was meant to be thrown away with other items that were expiring and that the worker didn’t realize until the other pharmacist intervened.
Wendy asked why the pharmacy didn’t have any signs informing customers that contraceptives were not sold.
She stated that the man acknowledged that he had wasted his time but that he could buy the contraceptive products at another pharmacy and even offered him a $50 voucher.
Wendy rejected the man’s voucher and asked if condoms were sold at the pharmacy, as she would have purchased $50 and handed them out to the front of the store.
It is understood that condoms are not sold in the pharmacy, while the “family planning” section of the pharmacy was labeled as “feminine hygiene” and only included pregnancy tests, personal lubricants, and menstrual products.
The co-owner of the pharmacy explained that all contraceptive items, including condoms, were not sold in the store (pictured, a shopper chooses condoms in the healthcare aisle at Coles).
Wendy said she was shocked by the experience, adding that she would be fired if her political or religious views influenced her at work.
‘I would lose my job. “If I went to work at the hospital today and started talking about my political beliefs or religion, they would report me to the Health Care Complaints Commission and probably deregister me because that’s so unprofessional,” Wendy said.
He added that professionals should not judge customers for their choices and that owners should not run a pharmacy if they do not “believe in modern medicine.”
The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency’s Code of Conduct states that a patient must have access to healthcare free of bias and discrimination.
Health professionals “should not allow moral or religious views or conscientious objection to deny patients access to medical care,” the code of conduct says.
The code of conduct stipulates that a healthcare professional is free to refuse, provide or participate in care themselves.
However, in such situations, the health professional must “Respectfully inform the patient (where appropriate), their employer and other relevant colleagues of your objection and ensure the patient has alternative care options.”
