A refractory and repeat offender pharmacist. Bruno Pichon, 38, pharmacist in Salleboeuf, a small town of 2,200 inhabitants near Bordeaux, was banned from exercising for a week. His fault: having refused to sell contraceptives prescribed by doctors in the name of his religious beliefs. The scandalous affair in the small town took place on January 12. Two family planning activists were disqualified by presenting a prescription for an IUD and a morning-after pill.
Shocked, Family Planning immediately alerted the Order of Pharmacists, which took a sanctioning measure against the devious practitioner. The Order was also not surprised because it had already received a similar complaint from another patient. He had just received a one week suspension for an equivalent reason.
Better, this same pharmacist was not at his first attempt. In 1995 the professional had already refused to issue contraceptives because of his religious opinions. He had been convicted at first instance. And his attempts to appeal, from the Court of Appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, had ended in failure. Each time, this refusal to issue was deemed illegal.
The Public Health Code provides that the only case where the pharmacist has the right to refuse the sale of drugs is when the patient’s health is at stake. This refusal must then be notified and justified by strictly medical reasons.
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