Another Setback For Blagojevich's Illinois "Culture of Death" Machine

While it isn't a definitive ruling that overthrows Illinois Governor Blagojevich's 2005 emergency order forcing all pharmacists to dispense Plan-B even if they have moral objections, a court ruling Thursday gave the pharmacists the right to challenge it.

Blagojavich who is facing federal charges of trying to sell Obama's Senate seat nomination as well as a possible impeachment by the Illinois legislature also made it clear he would veto any laws that overturned his ruling. This is another prime example of the hypocricy of those who cry "freedom of choice" to oppose any laws that put limits on abortion. What they are really saying is that if you chose the "culture of death" that is Ok, but you are not free to chose to oppose what we stand for. You are only free to chose what we want.

Thursday's ruling overthrew the rulings of 2 lower courts. These courts had previously ruled that the plaintiff-pharmacists and pharmacies did not have legal standing to challenge the rule. I haven't read their tortured logic, but how do you rule that a person affected by this rule has no legal standing to challenge it. Someone like me who lives in Iowa & isn't a pharmacist working in or a pharmacy owner in Illinois, yes, but to deny Illinois residents their basic legal rights, NO.

"Dr. Charmaine Yoest, Americans United for Life (AUL) President and CEO, responded to the Supreme Court decision, stating, 'This is a huge victory for the freedom of conscience of all healthcare providers. Pharmacists now have proper recourse against a discriminatory law that would force them to check their constitutional rights at the workplace door.' ”

"Mailee Smith, AUL Staff Counsel, noted, 'Finally, an Illinois court got it right. If pharmacists and pharmacy owners don’t have standing to challenge a rule that unfairly targets them, who does? People should have legal recourse when the state attempts to circumvent and even eliminate their constitutional rights.'”

I suspect that there will soon be some legal challenges filed. & that things will again end up in the Illinois Supreme Court. Then there is the misnamed Freedom of Choice Act that threatens to overrule any existing protection of those who oppose abortion to chose to do so. Like I said, for the "culture of death" there is no real freedom of choice, just 1 choice, theirs. & that choice is death, not life.

Source: Illinois Supreme Court Decision Supports Conscience Rights of Pharmacists