AITKIN, Minnesota — A trial this week could determine whether a pharmacist violated the human rights of a Minnesota woman when he refused to give her emergency contraceptive prescription.
Andrea Anderson, a mother from McGregor, Minnesota, was charged under the Minnesota Human Rights Act in 2019 after a pharmacist at a Thrifty White Pharmacy, the only pharmacy in town, said he had lost her prescription for the “morning-after pill.” could not complete. Ella because of his religious beliefs.
After a pharmacy 20 miles away in Aitkin said it couldn’t provide her with the prescription, Anderson had to make a 100-mile trip to Brainerd during a snowstorm in January to obtain the drug, according to the lawsuit filed in Aitkin District Court. County. She spent over 3 hours on the road in wintry conditions with her then 2-year-old child.
After her experience with the pharmacy in McGregor, Anderson felt she could no longer trust the pharmacy in her town and now fills her prescriptions in Aitkin and Brainerd, forcing her to travel significantly more to get medicine, the lawsuit said.
The trial will continue in the Aitkin County District Court on Tuesday, Aug. 2, where jury selection began Monday. Judge David F. Hermerding presides over the case. Jurors will have the final say on whether the pharmacist has violated the state’s human rights law, which protects against gender discrimination – which includes pregnancy, childbirth and other related conditions.
In an earlier statement on the case, Gender Justice, a Minnesota nonprofit that Anderson represents, said no one should be denied medical care because of the beliefs of their health care providers.
Pharmacies, like any healthcare provider, have a legal and ethical obligation to provide their patients with the care they need. “In this regard, Andrea has failed at every turn and we intend to ensure that others do not have to go through the same ridiculous hurdles as they do.”
The pharmacist at the Thrifty White location in McGregor, George Badeaux, a pastor at a local church, said he objects to the drug Ella because it can prevent an embryo from implanting in the uterine wall, according to court documents. In a statement, he said he had refused to provide emergency contraception on three other occasions.
Emergency contraceptives such as Ella and Plan B are not considered abortion drugs by the Food and Drug Administration and work by preventing ovulation. While the FDA warns that the pill has the potential to stop an embryo from implanting in the uterus, that’s not how Badeaux’s defense can’t use terms like abortion during the trial.
Although Badeaux said he refused to fulfill Anderson’s prescription for religious reasons, according to court documents filed ahead of the trial, he will not be allowed to present an argument for religious freedom and defend his defense in terms of constitutional law. frame rights.
Hermerding wrote that the focus of the trial should remain on whether Badeaux Anderson discriminated on the basis of gender. Badeaux, however, will be able to explain his religious beliefs about the drug Ella.