One Minnesota A pharmacist is on trial after he refused to buy a woman’s emergency contraceptive pill because of “his beliefs”.
A civil trial began Monday to determine if veteran pharmacist George Badeaux violated the civil rights of Andrea Anderson, who is trying to get morning pill called Ella in January 2019.
According to Anderson’s lawsuit under the Minnesota Human Rights Act, the mother-of-five was searching for the pill at her sole pharmacy in her small town of McGregor, Minn.
Anderson testified in the lawsuit that she needed emergency contraception after a condom broke during sex.
“She acted quickly because any delay in obtaining the emergency contraceptive increased the risk of pregnancy,” the legal filing states.
Through the lawsuit Anderson claims that when she went to the pharmacy, Badeaux refused to dispense her medication based on his personal “belief”.
The lawsuit claims Badeaux told Anderson that although he could not fill her prescription, there would be another pharmacist available the next day who could dispense the medication. Anderson even claimed in the filing that Badeaux said “he can’t guarantee that they’ll help.”
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In the lawsuit, Anderson alleges Badeaux violated state law when he refused to tell her where else she could get the drugs.
Now, Anderson is seeking an unspecified amount of damages in a civil trial and hopes to receive an order demanding that Badeaux and the pharmacy he works for comply with state law that prohibits discrimination against gender-based treatment, including pregnancy-related issues.
Anderson allegedly also went to a CVS pharmacy in a nearby town that same day, where another pharmacist refused to give her the morning pill.
CVS was originally included in Anderson’s case as a defendant, although handle NBC reported before the case went to trial. Details of the settlement have not been made public, but Anderson received an unspecified amount of compensation.
Drug giant CVS did not publicly comment on the settlement, nor did it specify whether the technician who denied Anderson the drug was reprimanded.
Due to two morning dispensations, Anderson had to make a detour more than 160 kilometers in cold weather to get a prescription at Walgreens in Brainerd, Minn, the lawsuit claims.
In the filing, Anderson’s legal team alleges Badeaux refused to purchase the contraceptive pill on at least three other occasions. Badeaux said in legal documents that this was because he believed that birth control such as the morning pill would lead to an abortion.
He is said to have not given Anderson the drug Ella because he believed it could prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in the uterus. In the legal filing, he described the contraceptive as similar to “removing all care of an infant by throwing it out a back door into the woods.”
Anderson’s legal team countered the claim that Ella had an abortion in the lawsuit, writing, “If an individual is already pregnant, meaning a fertilized egg has implanted in their uterus, the contraceptive pill Emergency pregnancy ‘will not stop or harm the pregnancy.'”
Jury selection for the trial began on Monday.
Anderson is being represented by attorneys from Gender Justice, a firm based in St. Paul, Minn. fight for gender equality.
A representative for Gender Justice said that Anderson’s case was the first case of contraceptive denial to go to trial.
Last month, the US House of Representatives passed a bill that would ensure access to contraceptives for all Americans. The bill comes amid concerns the Supreme Court will threaten the availability of contraceptives in the wake of the Roe v. Wade ouster, which revoked abortion rights nationwide.
The new bill has yet to be passed by the Senate.
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