Disappointing decision over Plan B drugs
SEATTLE TIMES EDITORIAL BOARD A federal judge's decision to block at least temporarily Washington's new rules requiring pharmacists to dispense a controversial emergency contraceptive is disappointing.The move should not stand as a value of Washington state, that a pharmacist can interfere in a medical decision already made between a doctor and a patient. Judge Ronald B. Leighton issued the injunction in a lawsuit brought by Ralph's Thriftway in Olympia and pharmacists who do not want to be forced to dispense the drug often referred to as "Plan B." When taken within 72 hours of intercourse, the medication can prevent ovulation or fertilization but it also can prevent implantation of a fertilized egg. That does not meet a legal definition of abortion except in the minds of some pharmacists.
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