[Here’s an older article that is definitely still pertinent today, with the American Taliban’s fight to shut down women’s access to reproductive health care, closing down Planned Parenthood locations, withdrawing funding from women’s health. If you’re not angry, you’re not paying attention!]

Keep your laws off my back! (out of my bedroom, out of their vagina) Here’s my take on a few things…

Where do these men get off thinking they can control what women do with their bodies? Controlling what access women have to taking care of their bodies and their reproductive systems? Men have no say! It’s like that bumper sticker,

“If men could get pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament!“

It’s not enough that Religious Right & pro-life (read as pro-male/anti-female) sycophants try to get Roe v. Wade repealed or reproductive rights curtailed, now they are trying to strong-arm pharmacies into following their male-centric views and Judeo-Christian/American Taliban nonsense.

This a new story about Pat Robertson and his legal support group (American Center for Law and Justice) coming to the aid of four religious nut pharmacists who had worked at Walgreen’s stores in Illinois, but were fired because they refused to fill prescriptions for the “morning after” pill, all because of their “religious views,” filling the prescription violated their religious beliefs. Here’s the link on Yahoo from the story carried by Reuter’s Health News.

Since when do pharmacists have a say in what medications a woman can put in her body? Yes, their job is to provide the female customer with factual information about the medications she’s taking, to make sure the drugs are not going to cause problems especially with other drugs she might be taking. Outside of that, she puts a piece of paper down on the counter, signed by her doctor or her own request, they fill it. Since when is it a pharmacist’s job to let their version of morality (their mores) enter the picture? If they can’t do their job according to the corporate guidelines Walgreen’s has in place, then they should leave and start their own pharmacy (or work at WalMart.) If a company’s policies conflict with my beliefs, I should address the company and try to reach some sort of an agreement (a compromise, a corporate statement/disclaimer, etc.), if that can’t happen, then I should walk.

But noooo! Here comes Pat Robertson, who believes that New Orleans deserved what happened to it by Hurricane Katrina because of the sins of the people of New Orleans and who believes that Ariel Sharon had what was coming to him because of his going against Robertson’s “god.” (Story here about how whacked this old fart truly is.) Good-old boy Pat steps in with his idiotic views and old-timey religion (read as white male of privilege using an established hierarchical structure to keep his sheep-like, no-thinking followers in place with the fire and brimstone, rath of “god” bullshit) and his deep pockets of money skimmed off his followers from his tele-evangelism shows. Old Pat brings his forces to bear and goes on the offensive against Walgreen’s.

Now, I have no great love for Walgreen’s — the stores are a blight on the land! Every corner you look, there’s another freakin’ Walgreen’s! Where in the hell did that one come from? Why do we need another one of these damned things so close by? But, ya gotta give ’em credit: they fired these religious zealots who where letting their religious beliefs get in the way of doing their job and serving the public, doing their jobs according to Walgreen’s corporate policies. Pharmacists do have advanced degrees and are supposedly intelligent people, but they are simply employees of the company. If they can’t follow the company guidelines and policies, then they need to take a freakin’ hike!