Extraordinary reason Sydney woman was denied vital contraceptive medication at a pharmacy

A woman has been refused a prescription for a contraceptive pill at a pharmacy after a worker claimed he could not sell it to her due to ‘religious beliefs’.

Wendy, a registered nurse, went to a Sydney pharmacy on May 29 to pick up two of her prescriptions, including her contraceptive pill Yaz.

After waiting 30 minutes for her prescriptions, Wendy was called to the counter to pay and saw the Yaz box and another medication in her basket.

However, a male pharmacist took over after Wendy requested a receipt for her items so she could claim half the cost.

Wendy said she assumed the man printed her a receipt, but was then told she couldn’t buy the medicine because it had expired.

Wendy, who works as a nurse, visited a pharmacy in Sydney to pick up two prescriptions, including her oral contraceptive Yaz

The pharmacy refused to sell her the item, claiming the contraceptive had expired. Wendy asked to order Yaz and was told the pharmacy doesn’t have it in stock due to ‘religious beliefs’ (stock image from a pharmacy)

She then asked the pharmacist to order it, and another pharmacist stepped in and said “no.”

‘Another pharmacist comes along and just says; ‘No, we don’t order it. We do not have this in stock. We don’t provide it. We don’t do that here,” Wendy said news.com.au.

She added that the pharmacy told her it “does not dispense oral contraceptives.”

Wendy paid for her other prescription and left because she was late for work, claiming she felt judged by the staff.

The next day, a man claiming to be the co-owner of the pharmacy called Wendy to apologize for her experience.

He told her that the pharmacy did not stock any form of contraception due to “religious beliefs,” adding that he understood why some people choose to take the pill, but that the pharmacy “simply does not supply the pill.”

Wendy said the man told her that the pharmacist should not have taken the prescription off the shelf and put it in her basket because it was about to expire.

He said Yaz was intended to be thrown away, along with a number of other items that were expiring, and that the employee only realized this when the other pharmacist intervened.

Wendy wondered why there were no signs in the pharmacy informing customers that contraceptives were not being sold.

She claimed the man acknowledged she had wasted her time, but allowed her to purchase the birth control products at another pharmacy and even offered her a $50 coupon.

Wendy refused the man’s voucher and asked if condoms were sold at the pharmacy, as she would have bought for $50 and handed them out at the front of the store.

Clearly condoms are not sold in the pharmacy even though the ‘family planning’ section of the pharmacy was labeled as ‘feminine hygiene’ and included only pregnancy tests, personal lubricants and menstrual products.

The pharmacy co-owner explained that all contraceptive items, including condoms, were not sold in store (photo: customer choosing condoms in Coles healthcare aisle)

Wendy said she was shocked by the experience, adding that she would be fired if her political or religious views influenced her on the job.

‘I would lose my job. “If I went to work on the hospital floor today and brought up my political beliefs or religion, I would be reported to the Healthcare Complaints Board and they would probably sign me out because it is so unprofessional,” Wendy said.

She added that professionals should not judge customers for their choices and that owners should not run a pharmacy if they “don’t believe in modern medicine.”

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency’s code of conduct states that a patient should have access to medical care free from prejudice and discrimination.

Health professionals must “not allow moral or religious beliefs or conscientious objections to deny patients access to health care,” the code of conduct reads.

The code of conduct does stipulate that a healthcare provider is free to refuse, provide or participate in care themselves.

However, in such situations the healthcare provider should do so ‘Respectfully inform the patient (where relevant), your employer and other relevant colleagues of your objection and ensure that the patient has alternative care options’.