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ARCHIVED - Spanish pharmacists fight abortion law that forces them to dispense morning after pill
Pharmacy bosses in Spain argue that the law ignores their right to conscientiously object and puts women at risk
Last week the Spanish government approved the draft Law on Abortion which ensures, among several other controversial measures, that the emergency contraceptive pill, more commonly known as the morning after pill, is freely available in pharmacies and health centres. Medical establishments that refuse to dispense the drug, free of charge and without prescription, will face fines of up to one million euros.
The legislation has been met with severe criticism from the General Council of Official Colleges of Pharmacists (CGCOF), which argues that the law completely ignores the right to conscientiously object, a measure which is afforded to physicians who don’t agree with pregnancy termination.
At the same time, the Business Federation of Spanish Pharmacists (FEFE) has raised questions about the safety of dolling out the morning after pill indiscriminately, since it contains a much higher concentration of active ingredients than standard contraceptive drugs, which usually require a prescription in Spain.
According to the experts, even seemingly innocuous, over-the-counter medications like aspirin can interact with the morning after pill and cause serious complications in some patients. Still more can be allergic to some component of the drug.
“I suspect that we are going to have to challenge it, because it goes against legislation that is already well established, such as the Medicines Law and the regulation on dispensing the morning-after pill without a prescription, which has existed for 12 years,” explained FEFE president Luis de Palacio.
Despite claims that the new law violates the freedom of professional conscious, the Minister of Equality is adamant that "women who need it will be able to access the morning-after pill for free in health centres and it must, of course, be available in all pharmacies".
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