title: Pharmacist critique was ill-informed.
abstract: Pharmacists' ability to exercise "professional right of conscience" in dispensing emergency contraception, as well as the professionalism of pharmacists, has fallen under attack recently by the media, by state governments, and even by other healthcare professionals in published commentaries. This editorial discusses the controversy surrounding emergency contraceptives, the right of pharmacists to refuse to fill prescriptions that they consider morally objectionable, and the responsibility of pharmacists to provide medications in a timely and professional manner. The professionalism of pharmacy is also examined in light of the expanded scope of practice in which pharmacists increasingly find themselves practicing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, Pennsylvania State University, Hershey, 17033-2360, USA. kjd136@psu.edu
authors.forename: Kelly Dowhower
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Karpa
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003281:Contraceptives, Postcoital; D006801:Humans; D010595:Pharmacists / Q000941:ethics*; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations
chemical_list: D003281:Contraceptives, Postcoital