Illinois files TRO against state officials' enforcement of 2005 regulation
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. Less than one month after a district judge in New York ordered the Food and Drug Administration to allow women under the age of 18 to purchase Plan B without a prescription within 30 days, the Circuit Court in Springfield, Ill. on Friday issued a temporary restraining order against the Governor of Illinois and other state officials, ordering them not to enforce a 2005 administrative regulation that required all pharmacies to dispense Plan B and other forms of abortion-producing drugs.
The two issues are not necessarily linked — Plan B remains one of the only over-the-counter medicines approved with a dual Rx/OTC status for the same ingredient at the same strength for the same indication. Plan B is currently available without a prescription for women over the age of 18, but available only with a prescription for women under the age of 18.
The New York ruling changes that.
The Illinois court reverses a standing order from then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, which mandated pharmacists to dispense Plan B without regard to any personal beliefs that Plan B is an abortion agent. While technically Plan B prevents conception when taken within 72 hours of sexual activity, as opposed to aborting a pregnancy, several religious groups consider Plan B an abortive agent.
Many pharmacy groups, including the American Pharmacists Association, support “refuse and refer” policies, whereby an objecting pharmacist can refuse to fill a prescription based upon their personal belief system, so long as they refer that prescription either to another pharmacist or to another pharmacy.
“This is yet another step on the road to full protection for the rights of conscience of all health care workers,” stated Francis Manion, senior counsel for the American Center for Law & Justice. “In ruling in favor of our clients, the court rejected the attempt of Illinois officials to trample on the rights of our clients and disregard existing laws passed by the legislature for the very purpose of protecting those rights. We will continue to press this issue until we have obtained full protection for the conscience rights of these professionals who should not have to choose between their deeply held religious beliefs and license revocation and other penalties.”