SJ-R: Plan B is not abortion

[kevsand]

Nice to see the Springfield Journal-Register applauding Blago when it's justified...

http://www.sj-r.com/sections/opinion/stories/74914.asp

ILLINOIS MAY NOT always be out in front on issues, but when it comes to protecting a woman's right to have her contraceptive prescription filled, the state is at the forefront. And we say, bravo.

(snip)

THE GOVERNOR'S RULE on Plan B was needed not just to assure women access to contraception, but to stop a slide down a slippery and dangerous slope. A recent article in the Washington Post quoted Steven H. Aden of the Christian Legal Society's Center for Law and Religious Freedom.

"More and more pharmacists are becoming aware of their right to conscientiously refuse to pass objectionable medications across the counter. We are on the very front edge of a wave that's going to break not too far down the line," Aden said.

Will this right of refusal include HIV drugs for those who contracted AIDS through drug abuse? Will pharmacists feel emboldened to deny a prescription for antibiotics to cure a sexually transmitted disease? How about drugs for treating depression - "What you really need, Mr. Smith, is meditation, a healthy diet and exercise."

Some will say these are silly concerns - until recently, we would have thought it silly that women would have to worry about picking up a legal birth control prescription issued by their doctor.