Mother is denied pill by Muslim pharmacist

Ruth Johnson, 33, who has two children, including a month-old baby, had not been using her usual method of contraception with her fiancée.

She went to the Tesco dispensary in Hewitts Circus, Cleethorpes, Lincs, and asked an as assistant for the pill Levanelle.
Miss Johnson was told it could only be dispensed by the locum pharmacist who was called to speak with her.

She said: "He came out from behind a screen and told me that he would not be allowing me to buy the pill from him because he had a right to refuse to sell it on the basis of his personal beliefs.
"The pharmacist was of Asian origin so I asked him if it was because of his religion and he replied 'Yes'."
Miss Johnson, from Cleethorpes, was left feeling ashamed and worried and complained to the store manager who told her they couldn't force the pharmacist to sell the product.
She said: "I asked him if a Jewish or Muslim checkout operator could refuse to sell pork or alcohol or if a Jehovah's Witness could refuse to sell birthday and Christmas cards."
Her concern is that the policy could deter teenage girls from seeking the morning-after pill.
"I appreciate we live in a multi-cultural society but what gives him the right to impose his beliefs onto me?" she added.

A Tesco spokesman said the pharmacist was acting within his rights to refuse to sell the pill and the customer was advised where else she could buy the product.
He said: "We do apologise to Miss Johnson for the inconvenience caused. However, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's code of ethics allows pharmacists the right to refuse."
The Society said its code of ethics and standards is adopted by all healthcare bodies.

Its does not require a pharmacist to provide a service that is contrary to their religious or moral beliefs but any attempt by a pharmacist to impose their beliefs on a customer seeking professional help without offering an alternative could form the basis of a professional misconduct complaint.

Two years ago Jo-Ann Thomas, a school crossing patrolwoman with two children, faced a similar situation in Thurcroft, Rotherham, South Yorkshire.
She was told by a Muslim pharmacist at Lloyds Pharmacy near her home that she should go to her doctor for supplies even though the item was in stock.
She said at the time: "I'm a 37 year old woman, not a daft girl who doesn't know what she's doing. It's my choice not his. It's his religion not mine. He's a dispensing chemist and his job is to dispense drugs."

Left "ashamed and worried," woman wonders: "I appreciate we live in a multi-cultural society but what gives him the right to impose his beliefs onto me?" Why, simply because his beliefs tell him so. More specifically, it has to do with this business of "enjoining the right and forbidding the wrong," based on Koran 3:104 (as well as 3:110, 9:71, 9:112, 5:78-80).