(no subject)
Nov. 14th, 2005 01:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ebonlockTarget decides its fundie pharmacists are more important than your health:
As you may recall, Target is letting its pharmacists refuse to fill your order for emergency contracptive pills (Plan B, as it's called) simply because they find your prescription immoral. Target is now saying that they'll fill your prescription in a "timely manner" at another pharmacy, or at their pharmacy at a later time (presumably when their holier-than-thou employee is on break).
I don't know about you, but when I go to the pharmacist, I don't want him sending me to another Target 40 miles away simply because he has religious issues with my prescription. It's none of his business what prescription I'm getting filled, and short of there being a glaring mistake in my prescription a la "It's a Wonderful Life" - i.e., instead of allergy pills someone gave me cyanide - it's none of his damn business passing religious judgment on my prescriptions, my illnesses, my prefered form of treatment, or me.
I already have a priest, and he doesn't work at Target, thank you.
[...]
Interestingly, Target responds in the email below, just issued today. It seems that Target will ONLY honor its employees constitutionally-protected (so THEY claim) religious beliefs IF that religious belief deals with Plan B. So Target is now saying that it will NOT permit its employees to exercise their supposed religious rights under the 1964 Act if the medication or product in question is anything OTHER than Plan B.
Why not?
How can Target say that the employees have an absolute right under the 1964 Act to discriminate in what they sell because of their religion, but then they don't have that same right if the product the employee objects to selling is anything other than Plan B? That makes no sense. Target can't pick and choose which civil rights it wants to grant its uber-Christian employees. Either those employees are or aren't covered under the Civil Rights Act. And if they are covered by it, I have a hard time understanding how Target is going to defend not permitting its Christian Science employees from banning aspirin or its fundamentalist Christian employees from refusing to serve gays. Are those religious beliefs somehow less meritorious than objectsions to what the fundies perceive as abortion (even though Plan B isn't abortion, the fundies claim it is)?
Is Target now in the business of deciding, Solomon-like, which religious beliefs are valid and which are not? Sure sounds like they just did.
Here's Target's most recently email:
From: Target.Response Target.Response@target.com
Date: Nov 14, 2005 11:14 AM
Subject: Filling Prescriptions
Dear Target Guest
In our ongoing effort to provide great service to our guests, Target consistently ensures that prescriptions for the emergency contraceptive Plan B are filled. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 also requires us to accommodate our team members' sincerely held religious beliefs.
In the rare event that a pharmacist's beliefs conflict with filling a guest's prescription for the emergency contraceptive Plan B, our policy requires our pharmacists to take responsibility for ensuring that the guest's prescription is filled in a timely and respectful manner, either by another Target pharmacist or a different pharmacy.
The emergency contraceptive Plan B is the only medication for which this policy applies. Under no circumstances can the pharmacist prevent the prescription from being filled, make discourteous or judgmental remarks, or discuss his or her religious beliefs with the guest.
Target abides by all state and local laws and, in the event that other laws conflict with our policy, we follow the law.
We're surprised and disappointed by Planned Parenthood's negative campaign. We've been talking with Planned Parenthood to clarify our policy and reinforce our commitment to ensuring that our guests' prescriptions for the emergency contraceptive Plan B are filled. Our policy is similar to that of many other retailers and follows the recommendations of the American Pharmacists Association. That's why it's unclear why Target is being singled out.
We're committed to meeting the needs of our female guests and will continue to deliver upon that commitment.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Hanson
Target Executive Offices
Well I've always liked their cheap litter and sodas, but I think I'll be taking my business elsewhere from now on.
Edit: my email to Target-
I'm very sad to have to write this email telling you that while I have been a loyal Target customer for years, you have now lost my weekly business. Any company that chooses to endanger any woman's health by allowing its employees to selectively choose not to fill one very specific medical prescription, is not a company I feel comfortable giving my money to any longer. You speak of the rights of the employees who work for you, but neglect those of your customers. You've chosen your pharmacists' religious beliefs over the health of those who rely on your services, and in some cases may have few or no alternatives from which to receive a prescription which must be taken quickly to be effective.
If your desire truly was to allow your pharmacists the freedom to express their religious convictions you would not restrict this rule only to Plan B contraceptives. I think this makes your company's real motivations disturbingly clear. I for one plan to do everything I can to make certain that as many people who care about the health and welfare of women avoid your stores now and in the future.
If you'd like to send them something similar please swing by their site and hit the Contact Us button.
As you may recall, Target is letting its pharmacists refuse to fill your order for emergency contracptive pills (Plan B, as it's called) simply because they find your prescription immoral. Target is now saying that they'll fill your prescription in a "timely manner" at another pharmacy, or at their pharmacy at a later time (presumably when their holier-than-thou employee is on break).
I don't know about you, but when I go to the pharmacist, I don't want him sending me to another Target 40 miles away simply because he has religious issues with my prescription. It's none of his business what prescription I'm getting filled, and short of there being a glaring mistake in my prescription a la "It's a Wonderful Life" - i.e., instead of allergy pills someone gave me cyanide - it's none of his damn business passing religious judgment on my prescriptions, my illnesses, my prefered form of treatment, or me.
I already have a priest, and he doesn't work at Target, thank you.
[...]
Interestingly, Target responds in the email below, just issued today. It seems that Target will ONLY honor its employees constitutionally-protected (so THEY claim) religious beliefs IF that religious belief deals with Plan B. So Target is now saying that it will NOT permit its employees to exercise their supposed religious rights under the 1964 Act if the medication or product in question is anything OTHER than Plan B.
Why not?
How can Target say that the employees have an absolute right under the 1964 Act to discriminate in what they sell because of their religion, but then they don't have that same right if the product the employee objects to selling is anything other than Plan B? That makes no sense. Target can't pick and choose which civil rights it wants to grant its uber-Christian employees. Either those employees are or aren't covered under the Civil Rights Act. And if they are covered by it, I have a hard time understanding how Target is going to defend not permitting its Christian Science employees from banning aspirin or its fundamentalist Christian employees from refusing to serve gays. Are those religious beliefs somehow less meritorious than objectsions to what the fundies perceive as abortion (even though Plan B isn't abortion, the fundies claim it is)?
Is Target now in the business of deciding, Solomon-like, which religious beliefs are valid and which are not? Sure sounds like they just did.
Here's Target's most recently email:
From: Target.Response Target.Response@target.com
Date: Nov 14, 2005 11:14 AM
Subject: Filling Prescriptions
Dear Target Guest
In our ongoing effort to provide great service to our guests, Target consistently ensures that prescriptions for the emergency contraceptive Plan B are filled. As an Equal Opportunity Employer, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 also requires us to accommodate our team members' sincerely held religious beliefs.
In the rare event that a pharmacist's beliefs conflict with filling a guest's prescription for the emergency contraceptive Plan B, our policy requires our pharmacists to take responsibility for ensuring that the guest's prescription is filled in a timely and respectful manner, either by another Target pharmacist or a different pharmacy.
The emergency contraceptive Plan B is the only medication for which this policy applies. Under no circumstances can the pharmacist prevent the prescription from being filled, make discourteous or judgmental remarks, or discuss his or her religious beliefs with the guest.
Target abides by all state and local laws and, in the event that other laws conflict with our policy, we follow the law.
We're surprised and disappointed by Planned Parenthood's negative campaign. We've been talking with Planned Parenthood to clarify our policy and reinforce our commitment to ensuring that our guests' prescriptions for the emergency contraceptive Plan B are filled. Our policy is similar to that of many other retailers and follows the recommendations of the American Pharmacists Association. That's why it's unclear why Target is being singled out.
We're committed to meeting the needs of our female guests and will continue to deliver upon that commitment.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Hanson
Target Executive Offices
Well I've always liked their cheap litter and sodas, but I think I'll be taking my business elsewhere from now on.
Edit: my email to Target-
I'm very sad to have to write this email telling you that while I have been a loyal Target customer for years, you have now lost my weekly business. Any company that chooses to endanger any woman's health by allowing its employees to selectively choose not to fill one very specific medical prescription, is not a company I feel comfortable giving my money to any longer. You speak of the rights of the employees who work for you, but neglect those of your customers. You've chosen your pharmacists' religious beliefs over the health of those who rely on your services, and in some cases may have few or no alternatives from which to receive a prescription which must be taken quickly to be effective.
If your desire truly was to allow your pharmacists the freedom to express their religious convictions you would not restrict this rule only to Plan B contraceptives. I think this makes your company's real motivations disturbingly clear. I for one plan to do everything I can to make certain that as many people who care about the health and welfare of women avoid your stores now and in the future.
If you'd like to send them something similar please swing by their site and hit the Contact Us button.
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no subject
Date: 2005-11-14 10:21 pm (UTC)Rite-Aid does the same thing.
Wal-Mart is also guilty of the same.
Where do we go now?
In some neighbourhoods, Target, Rite-Aid, and WalMart are ALL that is available.
Does CostCo do anything similar? If not, I will have to ask my mother to take me more often when I need a prescription filled.
Otherwise... members of the female half of the human in habitants on the planet are SOL.
And that SUCKS.
C.
no subject
Date: 2005-11-14 10:26 pm (UTC)http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/view.php?id=10860
Second, more troubling news from Tucson, Ariz., where a 20-year-old rape victim called dozens of pharmacies in town before she found one that stocked emergency contraception (EC). "When she finally did find a pharmacy with it, she said she was told the pharmacist on duty would not dispense it because of religious and moral objections," reported the Arizona Daily Star. Emergency contraception, the story continued, "prevents pregnancy by stopping ovulation, fertilization, or implantation of a fertilized egg. The sooner the emergency contraception is taken after intercourse, the more effective it is."
no subject
Date: 2005-11-14 10:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-15 01:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-14 10:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-14 10:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-14 10:31 pm (UTC)GAH!
Now I have to boycott TARGET?!?
no subject
Date: 2005-11-14 10:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-14 10:38 pm (UTC)I also see that Target makes large yearly contributions to the Republican party...surely these two phenomena are not un-related?
no subject
Date: 2005-11-14 10:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-14 10:50 pm (UTC)Unforuntately, this kind of issue seems to have cut a pretty wide swath through any corporation involved in retail pharmacy business...I'm fairly sure that CVS and Eckerd have both employed pharmacists that refuse this medication to their customers. Part of the problem is that pharmacists are *very* in-demand; companies are so afraid to lose them that they're often given carte blanche.
no subject
Date: 2005-11-15 12:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-15 12:59 am (UTC)Good for you! If you don't mind sharing, please post what you send 'em in the comments here.
no subject
Date: 2005-11-15 12:41 am (UTC)Praise Allah. (ulaeulaeulaeulaeuleauleauleaulea)
no subject
Date: 2005-11-15 01:03 am (UTC)