An Illinois appeals court has ruled in favor of two pharmacists who objected to having to provide emergency contraception on religious grounds, setting a precedent their lawyer hopes will protect others from judicial or state sanctions.
Friday’s ruling affirmed an injunction granted by a lower court that found that state law “protects the pharmacists’ decisions not to dispense emergency contraceptives due to their conscience.”
The ruling by the 4th District Appellate Court applies only to the two pharmacists. But their lawyer says it sets an important precedent that should protect other pharmacists who seek to invoke their own religious beliefs in declining to provide the so-called “Plan B” drug.
