2011 Victories: Conscience Rights of Prolife Pharmacists Protected

This is the latest installment in a year-end series looking back at a few of the hundreds of victories by the ACLJ in 2011.

Luke VanderBleek and Glenn Kosirog, two prolife pharmacy owners in Illinois, were faced with a choice: violate their religious beliefs by dispensing abortion related drugs or face sanctions under a state rule. Governor Blagojevich stated that this rule’s purpose was “to stop religion from ‘stand[ing] in the way’ of dispensing drugs, and force pharmacies to ‘fill prescriptions without making moral judgments.’”

The ACLJ defended these prolife pharmacists from being forced to violate their conscience and dispense abortion drugs in court and won. After six years of litigation, an Illinois state court found that the rule not only violated Illinois state law but that it also violated the Free Exercise Clause of the U.S. Constitution. This is not only a victory for these two pharmacists but for the freedom of conscience of prolife members of the medical profession across America.

To help the ACLJ continue to have the resources we need to make these victories possible and continue these fights, please consider making a donation to the ACLJ through our year-end Matching Challenge. Your gift will be matched dollar-for-dollar though the end of the year.

You can read more in the ACLJ’s 2011 Victories series here.