here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\nOur clients Luke VanderBleek and Glenn Kosirog – who own a number of pharmacies – reacted to the decision:<\/p>\n
VanderBleek reiterated his reason for refusing to fill \u201cmorning after\u201d pills. \u201cWomen are instructed to take this medication without regard that she may be carrying a human life,\u201d he said.\u00a0 \u201cI can\u2019t in good conscience prescribe the medication.\u00a0 It is a pill that ends life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe we\u2019re in the practice of pharmacy to preserve life and to take away pain and suffering,\u201d VanderBleek added, \u201cand we\u2019re not really there for the comfort and convenience of some who would want to end life early or to abort life. We wouldn\u2019t stock or dispense any sort of medicines that we thought were intended to and had the ability to sacrifice human life.\u201d<\/p>\n
And Kosirog agreed with the Judge’s ruling that determined that there was “no evidence of a single person who ever was unable to obtain emergency contraception because of a religious objection.”<\/p>\n
\u201cI can count on both hands other pharmacies in our area where they could get it,\u201d Kosirog said.<\/p>\n
This decision represents a major victory for the rights of conscience.\u00a0 It took six years, but our clients have finally prevailed against a state government determined to coerce them and all pro-life pharmacists into violating their deeply held religious beliefs or give up their livelihoods.\u00a0 Such treatment is not permissible by either Illinois state law or the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.<\/p>\n
We have a long track record of defending the rights of pro-life pharmacists in Illinois.\u00a0 In Menges v. Blagojevich<\/em>, we represented seven individual pharmacists who succeeded in having the state amend the regulation to recognize the conscience rights of individual pharmacists.\u00a0 In Vandersand v. Walmart <\/em>and Quayle v. Walgreens<\/em>, our attorneys convinced two other courts that Illinois pharmacists are protected by the State’s Health Care Right of Conscience Act.<\/p>\nWhat happens with this latest court decision?<\/p>\n
The Illinois Attorney General\u2019s office says it plans to appeal.<\/p>\n
We will be ready and meet this challenge at the appeals court level.\u00a0 We’re confident this decision will stand especially since the defendants failed to produce at trial any evidence in support of their arguments.<\/p>\n
We will keep you posted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I want to share with you an important victory in our ongoing effort to protect the fundamental right of pharmacists to practice their profession without having to violate their conscience. Our attorneys secured a sweeping victory for pro-life pharmacy owners in Illinois after a legal battle lasting six years.\u00a0 A state court in Illinois issued…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":401,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,29,28],"tags":[750,743,36,35,34,37],"class_list":["post-155","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-justice","category-pro-life","category-rights-of-conscience","tag-abortion","tag-aclj","tag-health-care","tag-illinois","tag-pharmacists","tag-religious-beliefs"],"yoast_head":"\n
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Our attorneys secured a sweeping victory for pro-life pharmacy owners in Illinois after a legal battle lasting six years.\u00a0 A state court in Illinois issued…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2011\/05\/standing-up-for-pro-life-pharmacists.html","og_site_name":"Faith & Justice","article_published_time":"2011-05-09T15:01:44+00:00","article_modified_time":"2011-04-29T16:09:14+00:00","author":"Jay Sekulow","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2011\/05\/standing-up-for-pro-life-pharmacists.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2011\/05\/standing-up-for-pro-life-pharmacists.html","name":"Standing Up for Pro-Life Pharmacists - Faith & Justice","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/#website"},"datePublished":"2011-05-09T15:01:44+00:00","dateModified":"2011-04-29T16:09:14+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/#\/schema\/person\/fd4c384af0620d4b82ae09cf1d77bdb4"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2011\/05\/standing-up-for-pro-life-pharmacists.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2011\/05\/standing-up-for-pro-life-pharmacists.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/2011\/05\/standing-up-for-pro-life-pharmacists.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Standing Up for Pro-Life Pharmacists"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/","name":"Faith & Justice","description":"Jay Sekulow - ACLJ","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/#\/schema\/person\/fd4c384af0620d4b82ae09cf1d77bdb4","name":"Jay Sekulow","description":"Jay Sekulow is Chief Counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), a law firm and educational organization that focuses on constitutional law. He is also Chief Counsel of the European Centre for Law and Justice (ECLJ). Jay Sekulow is one of the leading defenders of constitutional rights and religious liberties in the United States. Over the past 25 years, Jay Sekulow has amassed an unparalleled record of accomplishment, arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court on 12 occasions. His aggressive litigation strategy before the Supreme Court has led to many landmark First Amendment victories. In his first case before the Supreme Court, Jews for Jesus, Jay Sekulow secured the right of religious groups to pass out tracks in airports. In Mergens, Jay Sekulow successfully protected the right of students to form Bible clubs and prayer groups on public school campuses. In Lamb\u2019s Chapel, Jay Sekulow cleared the way for churches to have equal access to public facilities in the same way that other groups are permitted to utilize those facilities. In the Bray and Operation Rescue cases, Jay Sekulow protected the free speech rights of pro-life advocates to be free from criminal prosecution for conveying their pro-life message. In McConnell v. FEC, Jay Sekulow protected the right of young people to engage in the political process by donating to the campaign of their choice. In Pleasant Grove, Jay Sekulow paved the way for governments to be able to display Ten Commandments monuments, and other monuments of their choosing, in public parks. Through the ACLJ, Jay Sekulow engages the political, legal, and cultural battles facing America today. He routinely works with Members of Congress, advising them on proposed legislation and representing them in critical legal matters. Jay Sekulow has also testified before Congress on the constitutionality of proposed legislation. Also, in addition to being a successful Supreme Court advocate, Jay Sekulow is a highly respected broadcaster. Jay Sekulow is the host of Jay Sekulow Live! which airs each weekday on over 850 radio stations nationwide, in addition Sirius and XM satellite radio. He brings insight and education to listeners daily through this national call-in radio program. He is also the host of the ACLJ This Week, the ACLJ\u2019s weekly television program. Jay Sekulow regularly appears on major media outlets, including FOX News, CNN, ABC, CBS, and NBC, where he is sought out for his vast experience in constitutional law and his unique insight into many of the pressing legal and political issues facing America today. He is frequently quoted in the nation's leading newspapers and often contributes opinion editorials to national publications. Jay Sekulow has also published numerous law review and other scholarly articles. Jay Sekulow has received numerous honors for his groundbreaking legal work in the area of free speech and religious liberties. The Legal Times has named Sekulow one of \u201cThe 90 Greatest Washington Lawyers of the Last 30 Years\u201d and the National Law Journal has twice named Sekulow one of the \u201c100 Most Influential Lawyers\u201d in the United States. In addition, TIME Magazine listed Jay Sekulow as one of the \"25 Most Influential Evangelicals\" in America. Jay Sekulow\u2019s legal work in defense of religious liberties and human rights extends beyond the United States, having founded the ECLJ in Strasbourg, France, which maintains consultative status with the United Nations. He has also opened offices in Pakistan, Africa, and Jerusalem, Israel. Jay Sekulow is a staunch defender of Israel, presenting arguments before the International Criminal Court at the Hague. His efforts in support of Israel\u2019s right to defend itself from terrorist attacks have been commended by Israeli government officials, one official stating, \"Jay was instrumentally-involved in projects that the President of Israel and the Prime Minister put on our national agenda.\" Jay Sekulow also has a passion for educating the next generation of religious liberty advocates. He is a member of the Regent University Law School Faculty as a Distinguished Professor of Law and routinely teaches courses on constitutional law and presents guest lectures. Jay Sekulow has also started educational programs in international human rights law in Strasbourg, France and at Handong University in South Korea. Jay Sekulow is a graduate of Mercer University, earning both a bachelor\u2019s degree and doctor of jurisprudence. Sekulow served on the editorial staff of the Mercer Law Review and graduated cum laude. He later earned a Ph.D. from Regent University, writing his dissertation on American Legal History. Jay Sekulow also serves on the Board of Trustees for The Supreme Court Historical Society in Washington, D.C. Jay Sekulow, ACLJ Chief Counsels full biography and video. Jay Sekulow on Facebook. Jay Sekulow on Twitter. Jay Sekulow on YouTube.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/author\/jay_sekulow"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/401"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":163,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155\/revisions\/163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/faithandjustice\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}