A pharmacist refused to issue contraceptive pills prescribed by a doctor because it was against her religion.

Published: 10:13AM GMT 09 Mar 2010

Janine Deeley, 38, thought the woman was joking when she took her on one side and said : "I don't give out contraceptive pills because of my religion."

The mother of two teenage daughters, from Wybourn , Sheffield, said : "I couldn't believe the arrogance of the woman . Who is she to refuse to give me properly prescribed legal drugs?

"The irony is that one reason why I am prescribed the pill is because I suffer from endometriosis which causes painful periods.

"But that's not the point I don't see why I need to be treated like a child and explain myself to her. I am a responsible adult.

"She had no right to refuse to dispense my prescription except if the drugs weren't in stock or if she thought the dosage was incorrect.

"The pharmacy is adjoining the doctor's surgery and I have been using it for years without a problem. But this time I went in gave the assistant the prescription but then the pharmacist came out, took me to one side and said she had the painkillers I had been prescribed but not the contraceptive pill.

"I asked 'oh why not?' and she said 'I don't give them out because of my religion.' I honestly thought she was joking and I said 'Pardon?'.

"She repeated it and I said ' You're not giving ME the pills because of YOUR religion? and she replied 'yes'.

"I was absolutely stunned. She said I could go to another chemist or return the next day when someone else was on duty. I was fuming and just stormed out."

She added : "I had no idea what religion the woman was and I don't remember if she has served me before. The other staff looked very embarrassed but obviously it was the pharmacist's decision.

"There's a lot of things in society you might not like or agree with, but you can't do anything about them.This type of thing shouldn't be happening, it's not right."

A spokeswoman for Lloyds pharmacy said an investigation had been launched: "We are very sorry Ms Deeley was refused supply of her prescribed contraceptive pill at our Duke Street pharmacy."

"We have launched an investigation into the incident and been in contact with her to apologise for any distress and inconvenience caused."

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) said pharmacists were obliged to serve the interests of patients first.

A spokesperson explained:"While the Code of Ethics and Standards does not require a pharmacist to provide a service that is contrary to their religious or moral beliefs, any attempt by a pharmacist to impose their beliefs on a member of the public seeking their professional guidance, or a failure to have systems in place to advise of alternative sources for the service required, would be of great concern to the RPSGB and could form the basis of a complaint of professional misconduct."

If I were religious and my religion prevented me from doing my job, I think I'd be able to work out that I was in the wrong job...

But we're so, so afraid of where our society is headed.

By CARISSA DIMARGO

Updated 11:14 AM PST, Wed, Feb 24, 2010

 

Some things, you see and then you can just never unsee them. The images haunt you for the rest of your life.

This is one of those things.

The Pet Anti Breeding System -- otherwise known as a chastity belt for female dogs -- is "a new concept in Birth Control for Pets that specifically targets the external reproductive area of our four-legged friends," according to its sales site. (We'll just politely ignore the Random Capitalization.)

So if you don't want to spay your pet for whatever reason, you can still suit them up with, um, "birth control." The system sells for $65-$95, depending on size and whether the pet will need to protect its show-quality coat. The site also sells Sani-T pads, although the less said about those, the better.

We'd like to argue that this system is patently unfair. Girl dogs must be chaste and respectable, while boy dogs can just run wild, cavorting with those girl dogs of loose  morals who'll just breed with anyone who comes along? Tsk, tsk.

Maybe someday we'll live in a society where girl dogs and boy dogs can be treated equally. Until then... awwwwkward.

Outrage as vicar urges women to submit to husbands

Congregation finds sermon more in keeping with 'dark ages'

• Jo Adetunji
• guardian.co.uk, Saturday 13 February 2010
• Article history

 

A vicar has caused outrage among his congregation after urging women to "be silent" and "submit" to their husbands.

Angus MacLeay, rector of St Nicholas Church in Sevenoaks, Kent, made the comments, which some parishioners thought were more in keeping with a sermon from the dark ages than the modern Church of England, in a leaflet entitled "The Role of Women in the Local Church".

In it, he said women should "not speak" if asked a question that could be answered by their husbands and should "submit to their husbands in everything".

Using Bible references to justify his comments, he wrote: "Wives are to submit to their husbands in everything in recognition of the fact that husbands are head of the family as Christ is head of the church.

"This is the way God has ordered their relationships with each other."

In another passage, which appeared under the heading "More Difficult ­Passages to Consider", he continued: "It would seem that women should remain silent … if questions could legitimately be answered by their husbands."

But MacLeay's words were too difficult to swallow for the dozens of women who cancelled direct debit subscriptions to the Anglican church and vowed not to return.

On Sunday, the curate at St Nicholas delivered a sermon entitled "Marriage and Women" which also urged women to submit to their husbands.

Reverend Mark Oden blamed the "modern woman" for high divorce rates and told the congregation: "We know ­marriage is not working. We only need to look at figures … Wives, submit to your own husbands."

Despite the anger and offence caused, Oden stood by his comments. "I did not set out to unnecessarily offend people, but I stand by what God has said in his word, the Bible," he said.

One female member of the church said she was "disgusted" by Oden's sermon. "How can they talk that way in the 21st century? No wonder the church is losing touch if this is the kind of gobbledegook they want us to believe. I will not be going back to that church and will have to seriously consider my faith if this is the nonsense they are spouting now," she said.

Another member said: "What kind of medieval sermon is that? We are not in the 15th century."

The words may also shock Dr Rowan Williams, head of the Church of England, who holds progressive views.

Cory Doctorow

A reader writes, "Australian Classification Board (ACB) is now banning depictions of small-breasted women in adult publications and films. They banned mainstream pornography from showing women with A-cup breasts, apparently on the grounds that they encourage paedophilia, and in spite of the fact this is a normal breast size for many adult women. Presumably small breasted women taking photographs of themselves will now be guilty of creating simulated child pornography, to say nothing of the message this sends to women with modestly sized chests or those who favour them. Australia has also banned pornographic depictions of female ejaculation, a normal orgasmic sexual response in many women, with censors branding it as 'abhorrent.'"

The Board has also started to ban depictions of small-breasted women in adult publications and films. This is in response to a campaign led by Kids Free 2 B Kids and promoted by Barnaby Joyce and Guy Barnett in Senate Estimates late last year. Mainstream companies such as Larry Flint's Hustler produce some of the publications that have been banned. These companies are regulated by the FBI to ensure that only adult performers are featured in their publications. "We are starting to see depictions of women in their late 20s being banned because they have an A cup size", she said. "It may be an unintended consequence of the Senator's actions but they are largely responsible for the sharp increase in breast size in Australian adult magazines of late".

Depictions of Female Orgasm Being Banned by Classification Board

(Image: 124, a Creative Commons Attribution photo from brittsuza's photostream)

Myleene Klass warned after brandishing knife to deter intruders

Police tell TV presenter she was acting illegally in waving kitchen knife at youths who were peering in window late at night

• Haroon Siddique and agencies
• guardian.co.uk, Sunday 10 January 2010 12.08 GMT
• Article history

Myleene Klass is said to be 'aghast' after receiving a police warning for using a kitchen knife to scare intruders at her Hertfordshire home. Photograph: Richard Saker

The TV presenter and Marks & Spencer model Myleene Klass has been warned by police for waving a knife at teenagers who were peering into a window of her house late at night.

Klass was in the kitchen with her daughter upstairs when she spotted the youths in her garden just after midnight on Friday. She grabbed a knife and banged the windows before they ran away.

Hertfordshire police warned her she should not have used a knife to scare off the youths because carrying an "offensive weapon", even in her own home, was illegal.

Klass's spokesman, Jonathan Shalit, said the former Hear'Say singer was "utterly terrified" by the intruders and "aghast" at the police warning. "All she did was scream loudly and wave the knife to try and frighten them off," he told the Sunday Telegraph. "She is not looking to be a vigilante, and has the utmost respect for the law, but when the police explained to her that even if you're at home alone and you have an intruder, you are not allowed to protect yourself, she was bemused."

The warning issued to the model comes after a pledge by the Conservative party last month that they would make it more difficult for people who tackle burglars to be prosecuted.

The shadow home secretary, Chris Grayling, spoke out after Munir Hussain was jailed for beating a man who tied up his family in their home. He and his brother used a cricket bat to beat one of the intruders, who was left with a permanent brain injury.

A spokeswoman for Hertfordshire police said no reference was made in the Klass incident report about a weapon. She said the incident was being treated as trespass and "words of advice were given in relation to ensuring suspicious behaviour is reported immediately".

Klass, whose fiance, Graham Quinn, was away on business at the time of the scare, plans to step up security at the property, near Potters Bar.

Bottled honey shuts down California airport

A hazardous material crew and bomb squad were called to Meadows Field Airport in Bakersfield when sharp eyed TSA spotted jars of honey in a passenger's luggage.

The agents are apparently sharp-nosed, as well. From the news article:

Two Transportation Security Administration officers were also treated and released from the hospital after being exposed to what were described as "fumes" from the bottles.

Honey panic

Is this what they call

School officials have suspended a 10-year-old girl in New York for bringing peppermint oil to the John Mandracchia-Sawmill Intermediate School and giving drops to her fifth grade friends to flavor their water. The Commack School District insists that the oil “is an unregulated over-the-counter drug.”

The peppermint-laden drug dealer is Sara Morton-Greiner. She was suspended for one day.

Now many would argue that this could have been handled as an innocent mistake and the girl given a reprimand and letter for her parents. But peppermint oil has long been recognized as a gateway flavor to Spearmint for “Mento-heads.” Their sweet smelling breath is an well-known indicator of an underground mint-based drug economy at schools. When Sara is clean and her breath is stale, she can resume her education.

For the full story, click here.