Woman denied birth control at Sydney pharmacy for ‘religious’ reasons

A registered nurse was denied access to one item at a pharmacy in Sydney and the reason may shock you.

A nurse was denied access to a contraceptive pill at a pharmacy due to “religious beliefs”.

Wendy, who chose not to share her last name, went to a Sydney pharmacy on May 29 to pick up two prescriptions; her contraceptive pill Yaz and a second medication.

She had been on Yaz for 15 years for a variety of reasons, including managing her skin.

Everything was normal until she tried to buy the pills.

“After 30 minutes, they called me to pay. I see the Yaz box in the basket and the lady told me how much it cost,” Wendy told news.com.au.

“I asked if I could get a receipt for my insurance because I can claim back half the cost. All of a sudden I hear another pharmacist say he’ll do it.”

A woman claims she was denied birth control at a Sydney pharmacy

Wendy assumed that the man meant he would print the receipt but a minute later she was being told that the Yaz medication was expired and they couldn’t sell it to her. She then asked the pharmacy to order it in.

“And another pharmacist pipes up and he just says; ‘No, we don’t order it. We don’t stock this. We don’t dispense it. We don’t do that here’,” Wendy said.

Wendy said she was told they “don’t provide oral contraceptives”.

The nurse was running late for work so she paid for the other prescription and left but the more she thought about it the more she felt judged from the staff after the experience she had.

The following day, a man who claimed to be the co-owner of the pharmacy called her to apologise for her experience and explained the pharmacy does not stock any contraception because of “religious beliefs”.

“He said they have religious beliefs and don’t provide any contraceptives. He even said, ‘I understand there are other reasons that you may take the oral contraceptive pill but we just don’t supply it here’,” Wendy said.

She added that the man told her that the pharmacist should have never taken the medication off the shelf as it was expiring and with other items intended for disposal and that the initial staff member didn’t realise until another pharmacist intervened.

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Inside the pharmacy. Picture: news.com.au

She questioned why there was no signage regarding contraceptives and why she was not told upfront, with the owner allegedly expressed understanding that her time was wasted. The man allegedly told her she could go to another pharmacy as there were many nearby and offered her a $50 voucher. She declined and questioned if they stocked condoms. The man said they did not.

“I told him I would have bought $50 worth of condoms and just hand it out around the front of his shop,” she said.

When news.com.au visited the pharmacy on Thursday, there were no condoms on the shelves with what would typically be in the “family planning” section was instead labelled feminine hygiene and featured pregnancy tests, period products and personal lubricant. In other stores such as Woolworths condoms are beside personal lubricant while at Coles condoms are beside mouthwash, lubricant and pregnancy tests.

News.com.au left phone messages and emails over several days for the pharmacy but did not get a response.

Family planning section at Coles. Picture: news.com.au

Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency’s Code of Conduct states health practitioners “not allow moral or religious views or conscientious objection to deny patients access to healthcare”.

However, it continues: “recognising that you are free to decline to provide or participate in that care yourself. In such a situation, it is important to respectfully inform the patient (where relevant), your employer and other relevant colleagues, of your objection and ensure the patient has alternative care options”.

A spokesperson from the company that franchises the pharmacy chain told news.com.au: “We have been made aware of this complaint, and are responding directly to the patient.

“[We are] extremely disappointed by this patient experience. The alleged views expressed by the pharmacy do not share our company values. The pharmacy in question is independently run and operated and our company has no control over its day-to-day operations.

Family planning section at Woolworths. Picture: news.com.au

“[Our company] supplies millions of medicines each month to thousands of pharmacies, including the contraceptive pill. As a company we are committed to social inclusion and improving female health outcomes.”

As a registered nurse, Wendy was incredibly shocked by what had taken place and the reason behind it.

“I would lose my job. If I went to work today on the hospital floor and started talking about my political beliefs or religion I would be reported to the Health Care Complaints Commission and they’ll probably deregister me because that’s so unprofessional,” Wendy said.

“It’s not for you to judge if you don’t agree with it.”

She labelled what had happened “insane” and asked “why be a pharmacist if you don’t believe in modern medicine?”