Montana
House Bill 413 (2001)
Pharmacist Conscience Clause
Original
Introduction
This bill failed in a State
Senate Committee by a vote of 52-42 on 15
February, 2001, after passing in the House of
Representatives 60-40.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE
STATE OF MONTANA:
Section 1. Section 37-7-103,
MCA, is amended to read:
"37-7-103. Exemptions.
Subject only to 37-7-401 and 37-7-402, this chapter
does not:
(1) subject a person who is licensed in this
state to practice medicine, dentistry, or veterinary
medicine to inspection by the board, prevent the
person from compounding or using drugs, medicines,
chemicals, or poisons in the person's practice, or
prevent a person who is licensed to practice
medicine from furnishing to a patient drugs,
medicines, chemicals, or poisons that the person
considers proper in the treatment of the patient;
(2) prevent the sale of drugs, medicines,
chemicals, or poisons at wholesale;
(3) prevent the sale of drugs, chemicals, or
poisons either at either wholesale or retail for use
for commercial purposes or in the arts or changes
change any of the provisions of this code relating
to the sale of insecticides and fungicides, and does
not prevent the sale of common household
preparations and other drugs if the stores selling
them are licensed under the terms of this chapter;
(4) apply to or interfere with manufacture,
wholesaling, vending, or retailing of flavoring
extracts, toilet articles, cosmetics, perfumes,
spices, and other commonly used household articles
of a chemical nature for use for nonmedicinal
purposes;
(5) prevent a registered nurse employed by a
family planning clinic under contract with the
department of public health and human services from
dispensing factory prepackaged oral contraceptives
if the dispensing is in accordance with a
physician's written protocol specifying the
circumstances under which dispensing is appropriate
and is in accordance with the board of pharmacy's
board's requirements for labeling, storage, and
recordkeeping of drugs.; or
(6) prevent a person licensed pursuant to this
chapter from objecting to and refusing to take an
action that the person is licensed to take if that
objection and refusal is made in accordance with
[section 2]."
NEW SECTION.
Section 2. Claim of
conscience.
(1) The right of a person licensed pursuant
to this chapter to object to the performance of an
act authorized to be taken pursuant to this chapter
on a basis provided in subsection (3) must be
respected.
(2) A refusal to perform an act or the omission
of an act based on a claim of conscience, as
provided in subsection (3), may not serve as the
basis for denial of employment, a legal action, or a
discriminatory action against the person refusing to
perform the act or making the omission.
(3) A refusal to perform an act or the omission
of an act authorized by this chapter:
(a) must be based upon demonstrable personal,
ethical, moral, or religious grounds;
(b) must be communicated to the person requesting
the act that is refused or omitted; and
(c) may not knowingly cause death or injury to
the person requesting the act to be taken or to
another person.
NEW SECTION.
Section 3. Codification instruction
[Section 2] is intended to be codified as
an integral part of Title 37, chapter 7, and the
provisions of Title 37, chapter 7, apply to [section
2].
NEW SECTION.
Section 4. Applicability.
[This act] applies to a refusal to perform an act or
omission of an act made in accordance with [section
2] after October 1, 2001.