The conscientious objection of a pharmacist from Berlinwho did not want to sell the morning-after pill, was rejected. This was decided on Thursday by a ruling by the Superior Labor Court for Health Professionsfollowing a procedure initiated by the German Pharmacists’ Association.
The pharmacist will be obliged to have the morning-after pill in stock
The pharmacy in question is independent, that is, it is not part of a chain, and the owner had declared that not wanting to keep the morning after pill in stock, because the sale of the drug caused him a moral conflict, linked to not wanting to be an accomplice “to the death of an already existing living being”. Technically, however, it is difficult for the morning-after pill to be effective after fertilization, since it works if, at the time of taking it, ovulation has not yet occurred or if this occurs very shortly after unprotected intercourse.
The reasons for the sentence: “those who have conflicts of conscience must not work in public health”
The reasons for the ruling, however, did not refer to the details of the scientific correctness of what the pharmacist expressed, but to the concept of conscientious objection itself. A pharmacy that operates for the publicthe judges argued, is required to offer a complete supply of medicines that can be sold to the public in Germany and which the general population may need, regardless of the personal beliefs of the owner or operator. If, the judges conclude, a person does not feel like taking responsibility for operating according to the rules of the sector, because they conflict with his moral positions, then he would do well to explore other possibilities of professional employment, which do not involve conflicts of conscience.
The ruling comes shortly after a series of articles highly critical of Italy’s positions, which it pushed to eliminate, from G7 final documentthe reference to the right to safe and guaranteed access to abortionimposing a more generic formulation on women’s right to health. On that occasion, several German newspapers published reflections on the fact that women’s right to reproductive autonomy in Italy has taken several steps backwards, also mentioning the presence of anti-abortionists in counseling centers.
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