Apples & oranges

Joel:

A public utility uses public right-of-way and enjoys a government-sanctioned monopoly. The product, power, is content neutral.

By contrast, the vast majority of pharmacists are private practitioners, working for themselves or private enterprise. They dispense a great variety of drugs, some of which are controversial and harmful. Should a pharmacist be forced to fill a morphine prescription for someone he knows will abuse it -- someone he fears will be seriously harmed or killed by the lawful prescription? No. Should a pharmacist be forced to dispense a drug that he or she knows will kill an embryo?

The consumer can choose another pharmacist, even if it means traveling a great distance. The fact that a private practitioner may operate in an isolated village does not negate his/her right to avoid a personal crisis of conscience. I have to know this, Joel: would you support a government mandate that would force small town physicians to perform abortions? How about lobotomies, or breast augmentation?

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