Pharmacists have right to not sell contraceptives

Thank you for bringing the issue of emergency contraceptives and the international conference of Catholic pharmacists to the attention of the UW community.While I agree that we should have sovereignty over our own bodies, Chris Heide argues in his Nov. 2 article [Pharmacists shouldn't have choice in selling contraceptives], "A pharmacist's responsibility to his or her customer must trump his or her personal values." This is where I disagree.

Subject to certain limits, each of us has the right to make certain reproductive choices. We do not, however, have the right to force others to take part in those choices. Would you also contend that the state should require unwilling doctors to perform abortions, simply because the law might support the patient's right to have an abortion? Or should the state require a lawyer who opposes the death penalty to seek that sanction for an alleged murderer?

He said, "To refuse to fill a prescription for deep religious values would be to impose those values on other citizens." Not so.The pharmacists, by refusing to dispense Plan B, are not asking anyone to adopt their values.Rather, outwardly, they are simply refusing to carry a particular product.If pressed, such a pharmacist may reveal that he or she refuses to carry Plan B because doing so would violate his or her deeply held religious beliefs.

No reasonable person would view that as imposing values on other citizens.In any event, one of the great blessings of being an American is that we can choose to engage in a dialogue with someone whose views differ from ours or to simply ignore them.So if a customer feels that a pharmacist is imposing his or her values, that customer can choose to take his or her business elsewhere.

— Colin Mahoney

Senior, English

The Daily failed to cover election

The Daily rarely shies away from calling substantive issues to its readers' attention, but the newspaper seriously undermined its own credibility and did its readership a huge disservice this week by failing to give Tuesday's election the publicity it deserved.

In the past several weeks, The Daily featured an excellent series of interviews with local candidates. But to my knowledge, its staff neither compiled the candidates' responses into a voters' guide nor informed students of nearby polling places and absentee ballot deadlines in advance.Tuesday's paper, shockingly enough, didn't mention the election at all, as though it wasn't particularly newsworthy.

Editors in years past saw fit to print an Election Day reminder on the front page above the fold.They recognized their unique ability (and obligation) to "get the vote out" to a traditionally under-represented demographic, and they took it seriously.

I hope that this year's editors come to realize both The Daily's potential as a vehicle for promoting civic awareness and their responsibility to use it accordingly.

— Dan Siddoway

Senior, mathematics