Lying: The New Family Value

The pharmacy manager of a K-Mart in Scottsdale, AZ, Dan Gransinger, wrote this for Arizona Republic.

Since Gov. Janet Napolitano has vetoed the "conscience bill" that would have allowed pharmacists to refuse to fill abortion and emergency-contraception prescriptions based on religious or moral views, I have a solution:

The pharmacist should just tell the patient that he is out of the medication
and can order it, but it will take a week to get here. The patient will be
forced to go to another pharmacy because she has to take these
medicines within 72 hours for them to be effective. Problem solved

Now, it's been awhile since I've picked up a Bible or been to church, but I'm pretty sure one of the commandments is still "Thou Shalt Not Lie."

Fortunately for women in Arizona and elsewhere, NARAL Pro-Choice Arizona wrote this nice letter to K-Mart calling for this man's immediate dismissal.

I have recently received several emails and phone calls regarding a
letter printed in the April 15th, 2005 Arizona Republic, written by a
pharmacist whom we believe is employed by your store, Dan
Gransinger. Attached is a copy of the letter for your reference.
In his letter, Mr. Gransinger advises other pharmacists who are morally
opposed to dispensing emergency contraception to lie to customers about
the products’ availability. He seems proud of his clever deception,
showing no concern for the customer’s safety or health. We at NARAL
find his attitude toward women’s health deplorable. His statements
show a total disregard for the law, and a complete lack of understanding
of the burden many women, especially poor women or those who live in
rural areas, may face if forced to fill their prescription at another
pharmacy.

We would like to point out that, besides being blatantly illegal in view
of Governor Napolitano’s veto of HB 2541, the so-called “rights of
conscience bill”, Mr. Grasinger’s suggestion points out a certain lack of
morality. Apparently, lying is not something that weighs heavily on his conscience. Because Mr. Grasinger is publicly suggesting that
pharmacists lie to clients, we feel that K-mart must act immediately to
protect women and other clients from someone who has publicly stated his
willingness to mislead clients and keep them from their legal
prescriptions. His misrepresentations could lead to physical harm to
women as well as the undeniable interference of the dispensing of legally
prescribed medication, which is the legal and ethical obligation of your
pharmacy.

We ask that K-mart immediately remove Mr. Grasinger from his position as
manager and as a pharmacist at this or any K-mart stores. In addition, we
are demanding that K-mart issue a public statement announcing his
dismissal, as well as assuring its pharmacy customers that their
healthcare needs are the number one priority of its pharmacists.

If you don't like what your people in your profession are required to do, then you should be in another profession. Problem Solved.