FREE NEJM E-TOC    HOME   |   SUBSCRIBE   |   CURRENT ISSUE   |   PAST ISSUES   |   COLLECTIONS   |   Search Term  Advanced Search

Sign in | Get NEJM's E-Mail Table of Contents — Free | Subscribe

Previous Volume 351:2008-2012 November 4, 2004 Number 19 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

	Full Text PDF PDA Full Text Purchase this article Letters Add to Personal Archive Add to Citation Manager Notify a Friend E-mail When Cited E-mail When Letters Appear PubMed Citation

Health policy decisions are often controversial, and the recent determination by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) not to grant over-the-counter status to the emergency contraceptive Plan B was no exception. Some physicians decried the decision as a troubling clash of science, politics, and morality.¹ Other practitioners, citing safety, heralded the agency's prudence.² Public sentiment mirrored both views. Regardless, the decision preserved a major barrier to the acquisition of emergency contraception — the need to obtain and fill a prescription within a narrow window of efficacy. Six states have lowered that hurdle by allowing pharmacists to dispense emergency contraception without . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Arguments in Favor of a Pharmacist's Right to Object

Pharmacists Can and Should Exercise Independent Judgment

Professionals Should Not Forsake Their Morals as a Condition of Employment

Conscientious Objection is Integral to Democracy

Arguments Against a Pharmacist's Right to Object

Pharmacists Choose to Enter a Profession Bound by Fiduciary Duties

Emergency Contraception is Not an Abortifacient

Pharmacists' Objections Significantly Affect Patients' Health

Refusal Has Great Potential for Abuse and Discrimination

Toward Balance

Source Information

From the Yale University School of Medicine (J.C.) and Wiggin and Dana (K.B.) — both in New Haven, Conn.

Related Letters:

Pharmacists and Emergency Contraception
Waxman J., Laser R., Calis K. A., Pucino F. Jr., Restrepo M. L., Manasse H. R. Jr., Cantor J., Baum K.
Extract | Full Text | PDF  
N Engl J Med 2005; 352:942-944, Mar 3, 2005. Correspondence

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Curlin, F. A., Lawrence, R. E., Chin, M. H., Lantos, J. D. (2007). Religion, Conscience, and Controversial Clinical Practices. NEJM 356: 593-600 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Mears, B. J. (2005). Refusal to Provide Essential Care: Duties of Providers. AAP Grand Rounds 14: 30-30 [Full Text]  
• Waxman, J., Laser, R., Calis, K. A., Pucino, F. Jr., Restrepo, M. L., Manasse, H. R. Jr., Cantor, J., Baum, K. (2005). Pharmacists and Emergency Contraception. NEJM 352: 942-944 [Full Text]  
• Fincham, J. E, Harris, C. E, Fassett, W. E, Richards, W. (2005). Over-the-Counter Availability of Plan B Emergency Contraception: Further Discussion and Commentary. The Annals of Pharmacotherapy 39: 346-351 [Abstract] [Full Text]