Walkin’ on broken glass….

I enjoy this song. wee.

So, even tho I am probably one of the most news-unaware people that I know, I do receive the NY Times’ headlines in my mailbox every day, thanks to having subscribed to such services when I had child psych and had to do “children in the news” things. Anyhow. Not my point.

My point is…I don’t read it all that often, but every now and then, one of the headlines will catch my eye and I’ll actually go read the story. Today the headline happened to be “Pharmacies Balk on After-Sex Pill and Widen Fight in Many States”

Ok, this, in general, would’ve caught my eye but I doubt I would’ve read it, save for the fact that I spend 2 hours last night completing a Clinical Packet all about birth contrl, and the ‘morning after’ pill was mentioned in the book and such. So. I figured, it’s my duty as a hopefully-RN to keep up with such things.

The article basically summarized the dispute between pharmacists and legistlature regarding dispensing the pill. Some pharmacists, for personal or religious beliefs, do not feel that they should have to dispense it, because if taken after an alloted time-window, it could possibly be an abortifacient. It works for 3-5 days after having intercourse, but is really most effictive if taken in the first 24-72 hours. When taken at this time, it inhibits ovulation and/or fertilization, or prevents a fertilized egg from being implanted in the uterus, which wouldn’t be abortion just prevention of pregnancy.

Granted, some pharmacists don’t want to dispense it because they also don’t believe in birth control (cuz, ya know, it’s a lot better to have a bunch of bastards running around??) (No offense, I have no issues with bastards, etc, but last I knew, the catholic church wasn’t overly fond of them?)

Ya know. You went to school to be a pharmacist. To dispense drugs. Not to be a judge of moral character. The doctor obviously felt the prescription was needed. Fill the fucking thing!

And. Ok. I would not want to be forced to take part in something that I didn’t believe in, or disagreed with. But I still do what I’m told. I believe in assisted suicide, but I’m not gonna go around and up people’s morhpine drips even if it’s what I really, really want to do. Because when I accept my RN license, I will be aware that it is beyond my scope of power to engage in such activities, regardless of my morality. Just as my nursing instructors emphasize all of the time- sometimes we will have to counsel people who make decisions we don’t believe in or think are wrong (like, abortion or whatever), but it is NOT our place to say they are right or wrong. It is our place to provide them with the information that they need in order to be healthy.

How can you be a pharmacist and not agree to dispense birth control? I mean, it’s like saying “Gee Mr Smith. I really don’t think you’re in *that* much pain, so I’m not going to dispense you this percocet. Even tho your doctor obviously had determined that you need it. Too bad, I disagree. Here. Have a tylenol. With no codeine.” WTF??

So. Some states are pushing bills to require pharmacists to dispense the drug. Some are pushing bills to prevent pharmacists from being forced to dispense it. Other states have bills saying that the pharmacist can refuse, as long as they can refer the pt to another pharmacist in the store or nearby, who *will* fill the script. And some have bills that would make it mandatory for hospitals to make the morning after pill available to rape victims if they request it. To which the idiots say:

The Massachusetts law would also require hospitals to inform rape victims about the pill, something Catholic hospitals, in particular, object to. Colorado’s governor, Bill Owens, a Republican and a Catholic, vetoed such a bill this month, saying in his explanation, “it is one of the central tenets of a free society that individuals and institutions should not be coerced by government to engage in activities that violate their moral or religious beliefs.

WAIT A MINUTE. Hold the bus. How is INFORMING someone about an OPTION seen as COERCION by the government???? Does that NOT make sense to anyone else?? If they fucking HELD the moral or religious belief that the morning after pill and/or abortion was wrong, then they WOULDN’T TAKE THOSE OPTIONS. And, even if they did realize they had the option and decided to take it despite their religious beliefs– well then. Isn’t that -their- problem? Isn’t that -their- ticket to hell?? What gives anyone else the right to deny them that choice? Isn’t the greatest thing that God gave us considered to be Free Will??

My buddy is allergic to peanuts. To me, that quote above is equal to sitting him in a candy store FULL of peanut-packed products, telling him about all of those wonderful candies and how lovely they are, how lucky he is to live in a country where we are free to decide what candy we eat, where we are free to have a thousand assortments so that we can pick just the right one for us. And on his way out, they are sure to steer him to the right side of the street, never allowing him to look to the left. Because if he looked to the left, he would see an equally amazing store full of PEANUT FREE products.

Sure, I agree that having -too- many options isn’t always a good thing, because sometimes it’s really damn difficult to decide and it can be overwhelming. But damnit, I still wanna know my options.

I’ve spent a lot of time in therapy over the last few years. J, even tho I am sure she doesn’t condone or encourage it, has NEVER not once said that cutting wasn’t an option. Yes, she tells me it’s not a good option, that it’s a maladaptive option, that it’s an option that causes more problems than it solves. But she still acknowledges that it IS an option for me.

It’s like….never mentioning suicide around a suicidal or previously suicidal person because you’re afraid it might put the idea in their head. Chances are, the idea is either already there or else it was there and has been dismissed meaning the person doesn’t consider it an option for them.

How the fuck can you call this a free society if you hide the truth, if you alter reality and knowingly present it as the real thing?

Blah. I need to get ready to go donate blood and things. I should let it stop boiling now. *grrrrrs*

Random side note:
OH MY GOSH. They just played Michael Buble on the radio! Wooo. There’s hope yet.