Illinois Pharmacists' Conscience Rights Prevail Against "Blagojevich Rule"
December 10, 2012 - The Illinois Attorney General announced today that the State would not appeal a court ruling that protects Illinois pharmacists' conscience rights. This is a significant victory for Christian pharmacists and religious liberty.
Throughout seven years of litigation, CLS' Center for Law and Religious Freedom filed several amicus briefs in Illinois courts against the “Blagojevich Rule,” a regulation aimed at forcing Illinois pharmacists to dispense abortion-inducing drugs despite their religious and moral convictions. The latest brief was prepared by Kevin Todd and John Lillig of the law firm of Hoogendoorn & Talbot LLP, Chicago, Illinois. Joining CLS on the brief were the Catholic Conference of Illinois, the National Catholic Bioethics Center, and the Christian Pharmacists Fellowship International.
In September 2012, an Illinois appellate court ruled that the regulation violated state conscience laws. It upheld a 2011 trial court decision that found the regulation violated state laws and the federal First Amendment.
In 2005, then-Governor Blagojevich ignored the Illinois legislature’s repeated protection of its citizens’ conscience rights. At a time of a severe pharmacist shortage, the Blagojevich Rule risked the health care of all Illinois citizens by forcing pharmacists to choose between their consciences and their jobs. The State had been expected to appeal. But fortunately, after seven years of litigation, the Attorney General finally chose to accept the courts' protection of pharmacists' conscience rights.
Last month, the Center co-authored an amicus brief to protect Washington State pharmacists' rights against a similar state regulation. That case will be heard by the Ninth Circuit in 2013.