Now this kinda crap really pisses me off. This guy wouldn't give a woman birth control pills because he thought it was a sin. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, give him the death penalty, that's not a sin right? :twisted:

From

http://startribune.com/stories/462/5266456.html

Administrative Law Judge Colleen Baird recommended the punishment for Neil Noesen of St. Paul, after he refused in July 2002 to fill the prescription himself or transfer it to another pharmacist, because of his religious belief that providing a contraceptive would be a sin.

A spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood said she was happy the judge found Noesen had violated the code of ethics by refusing to transfer the prescription.

But Noesen's attorney, Krystal Williams-Oby, said the finding was unfair to her client and other pharmacists who have a personal objection to dispensing birth control because state law does not address the issue, nor do state rules established by the Pharmacy Examining Board.

"What the state is doing is holding my client to a standard that does not exist,'' she said.

The judge's recommendation goes to the Pharmacy Examining Board, which is expected to rule on the case in April. The board can implement the judge's recommendation, modify it or reject it.

According to the complaint, Noesen was an independent contractor who agreed to fill in at a Menomonie Kmart pharmacy in 2002 for a Saturday and Sunday shift.

Noesen testified at an October hearing that he is a devout Roman Catholic and had told his placement agency he would not help anyone get contraceptives because he didn't want to commit a sin.

He wrote a letter to the placement agency outlining those objections, but he did not forward that information in writing to the Kmart where he was assigned. He worked out a verbal agreement with the supervising pharmacist at the store to avoid filling birth control prescriptions. But he did not indicate that he would refuse to transfer prescriptions to another pharmacy.

Amanda Phiede, then a University of Wisconsin-Stout student, came into the pharmacy on a Saturday to refill her birth control prescription. She and Noesen both testified he asked her whether she would use the pills for contraception. She said yes, and Noesen refused to help her.

Phiede went to a nearby Wal-Mart and asked the pharmacist there to fill the prescription. The Wal-Mart pharmacist called Noesen to get the prescription, but he wouldn't transfer it.

Phiede returned with two police officers on Sunday trying to get her prescription filled but was again rebuffed. She eventually got her pills the following Monday afternoon and had to take two to make up for missing a day.

Baird noted in the ruling Wisconsin does not have a statute or rule that deals specifically with the issue of conscientious objections by pharmacists. But she noted state rules prohibit pharmacists from engaging in practices that could be a "danger to the health, welfare or safety of a patient or public.'' Baird found Noesen put Phiede at risk of an unwanted pregnancy through his actions.

There was no listing for Noesen in St. Paul, Minn., when The Associated Press attempted to reach him for comment Monday. Phiede did not return a message from The AP left with state officials overseeing her complaint.

Chris Taylor, political director and staff attorney for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin, said the organization was happy the judge found Noesen jeopardized Phiede's health and safety. But she was concerned the punishment could allow Noesen to do the same thing to someone else.

"We honestly think that this behavior was so severe that certainly a more severe penalty is warranted,'' Taylor said.

Wisconsin Right to Life takes no position on birth control, executive director Barbara Lyons said. But she noted the case "proves what happens when an individual's moral beliefs and livelihood are on a collision course.''

Baird recommended that Noesen be required to notify any pharmacy where he may work in detail about what practices he will not perform because of his conscience and the steps he would take to ensure "that a patient's access to medication is not impeded'' by his actions.

He would have to take a minimum of six credit hours of continuing education on ethics in classes approved by the board, to be completed within six months of the order. He would also have to pay all costs of the proceedings.