Board dismisses complaints against Montana pharmacist

By Heidi Bell Gease, Journal staff | Wednesday, March 26, 2008

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A Montana Board of Pharmacy screening panel has dismissed 11 complaints filed against Broadus pharmacist John Lane, who has stopped dispensing birth control pills because of his religious beliefs.

Lane wrote to his patients and took out a newspaper ad in October informing the community that as of Jan. 1, 2008, he would no longer dispense oral contraceptives or emergency contraceptives.

Lane, who grew up in Eagle Butte and graduated from the University of Montana in 1996, converted to Catholicism 10 years ago and believes life begins at conception. He said women using the pill can still ovulate occasionally, meaning sex can result in a fertilized egg. Contraceptives prevent that egg from implanting in the uterus.

Broadus, population 450, is 80 miles from the nearest pharmacy that provides oral contraceptives. That means local women must now make that long drive, get prescriptions filled by mail order or visit a county clinic to obtain birth control pills through its family planning program.

The Montana Board of Pharmacy received 11 written complaints, at least one of which asked that Lane's license be revoked. A board screening panel reviewed the complaints at a March 5 hearing in Helena.

Lane described the process this way: "If they deem that the complaints are of substance and of a serious nature, they would then refer it to the full board." The full board can then order pharmacies or pharmacists to comply with the board's rulings or risk losing their licenses.

That didn't happen in this case. All 11 complaints were dismissed "with prejudice," meaning they cannot be revisited.

Lane said 10 of the complaints were pre-typed form letters signed by Missoula, Mont., residents. The other was from a woman in Bozeman. Missoula is 420 miles from Broadus, and Bozeman is 273 miles away.

Lane didn't know any of the complainants, none of whom appeared at the hearing.

"I was a bit let down," joked Lane, who was represented by attorneys associated with the conservative Alliance Defense Fund.

Lane said the screening panel found he had gone "above and beyond" his responsibilities by notifying patients and medical providers of his decision months in advance.

Still, the panel's decision was a relief.

"Before you get there, you don't really know what the stance of the board is going to be," Lane said.

"The board of pharmacy doesn't have an administrative rule or statute that protects women's ability to access health care," Powder River Public Health Nurse Jaci Phillips said. "As far as we know, any pharmacist can do this because Montana doesn't have any law that prevents this kind of discrimination."

According to Lane, members of the screening panel said the pharmacy board intends to leave matters of "professional conscience" and mandating product availability up to the Montana State Legislature, which won't meet again until 2009.

Ronald Klein, executive director of the Montana Pharmacy Board, declined to say whether the board would raise those issues at the Legislature in Helena but said that question would likely be answered at an April 23 meeting. Planned Parenthood has asked to address the board at that time.

Klein said he could not comment about the March 5 hearing.

Meanwhile, women in Broadus are finding other ways to obtain contraceptives.

A Broadus medical clinic will not pursue state permission to dispense birth control pills, partly because the clinic is overseen by Holy Rosary Hospital, a Catholic hospital in Miles City, Mont.

Phillips said contraceptives are available through her office's Family Planning Program, a federal program that is available to everyone and operates on a sliding fee scale.

But that isn't the answer for everyone.

It doesn't serve women who take oral contraceptives to treat endometriosis, acne and other conditions, she said.

"And not every woman wants to come to a separate provider different than their gynecologist ... and go through their whole history and exam again," Phillips said. "When their doctor prescribes them something, they want to be able to get access to it."

Phillips is still hopeful that women will somehow be able to do that locally.

"Our main goal here is just to work to find some type of a solution for everybody," she said. "Because we really need to have access here, not 80 miles away."

See the related story, "Court upholds sanctions for pharmacist who didn't provide pills"

Contact Heidi Bell Gease at 394-8419 or heidi.bell@rapidcityjournal.com