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The Conversation
The Conversation
Elizabeth Chiarello, Associate Professor of Sociology, Washington University in St. Louis

Conflict at the drugstore: When pharmacists’ and patients’ values collide

Abortion Health Care Insurance Walgreens
Pharmacists see themselves as vital gatekeepers – but at times, some critics treat them as physicians' sidekicks. Witthaya Prasongsin/Moment via Getty Images

Imagine walking into your pharmacy, handing over your prescription and having it denied. Now imagine that the reason is not insufficient insurance coverage or the wrong dose, but a pharmacist who personally objects to your medication. What right does a pharmacist have to make moral decisions for their patients?

Lawmakers have wrestled with this question for decades. It reemerged in August 2025 when two pharmacists sued Walgreens and the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy, saying they had been punished after refusing to dispense gender-affirming care medications that go against their religious beliefs.

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