Pro-Life Pharmacy Makes History in Virginia

WASHINGTON (Catholic Online) - A Pharmacy officially opened on Tuesday, October 21 in Chantilly, Virginia. That may not seem like a major story. However, DMC Pharmacy opened as a completely Pro-Life Pharmacy. They will not dispense, recommend, or counsel on contraceptive products.

The official opening of this pharmacy was quite different as well. The Most Revered Paul S. Loverde, Bishop of the Diocese of Arlington (VA), was present. In the presence of 75 people crowded into the store, he sprinkled Holy Water on the facility and prayed a blessing on the work to be done.

While not the first of its kind, DMC Pharmacy was one of the first to hold a vision to be Pro-Life from the very beginning. According to Robert Semler, the manager/pharmacist of the business, DMC Pharmacy will offer "superior pharmaceutical care - both traditional and clinical services - focusing on the individual in a family-oriented, pro-life environment, free of contraceptive products and anti-life messages."

Located in a shopping center in a northern Virginia suburb or Washington DC, DMC Pharmacy will offer FDA-approved prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, quality alternative products including vitamins, natural products, homeopathics, herbals, and home-health needs as well as special order products and equipment.

DMC Pharmacy operated under the umbrella of Divine Mercy Care, a 501(c)(3) non profit Catholic healthcare organization located in Northern Virginia. "I am thrilled to be able to practice within the umbrella of Divine Mercy Care," Semler stated, "where my conscience will never be violated and my faith does not have to be 'checked at the door' each morning."

Robert Laird, Executive Director of Divine Mercy Care, stated, "DMC Pharmacy offers an alternative to those who hold strongly to principles of Life. Anyone using our services is making a choice. They are driving past other pharmacies to do business with us."

Opinions vary on the presence of Pro-Life pharmacies. Some believe that these stores need to serve their clientele, no matter what personal beliefs are held - that there is a professional obligation. Others maintain the fact that stores should have the freedom to determine the scope of their service.

In an interview with the Washington Post, Loren E. Lomasky, a bioethicist at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville observed, "In general, I think product differentiation expressive of differing values is a very good thing for a free, pluralistic society. If we can have 20 different brands of toothpaste, why not have a few different conceptions of how pharmacies ought to operate?"

DMC Pharmacy is the second operational entity of Divine Mercy Care. The first, Tepeyac Family Center, is Pro-Life OB-GYN medical practice in Fairfax, VA.

"Divine Mercy Care is values-based and consumer driven," stated Dr. John Bruchalski, president of Divine Mercy Care and a physician with Tepeyac. "Neither patients nor professionals want to abandon their conscience while they seek medical care. We need to be professional, personal, and passionate about how we infuse our community with the love of Jesus Christ."

DMC Pharmacy did not begin without a fight. Critics voiced objections as soon as word of this Pro-life pharmacy was heard. One group, the Virginia Chapter of NARAL, a pro-choice religious group, even started a petition to boycott the establishment.

Although this is a relatively new concept, many other pharmacies operate in America using Pro-Life principles. In 2002, Mike Koelzer informed his customers that he would no longer be selling any contraceptive products at his Grand Rapids, MI pharmacy.

Another is Lloyd's Remedies in Gray, Louisiana. "We try to practice pharmacy in a way that we feel is best to help our community and promote healthy lifestyles," Lloyd Duplantis told the Washington Post. Duplantis, who owns the business and serves as a deacon in the Catholic Church, further stated, "After researching the science behind steroidal contraceptives, I decided they could hurt the woman and possibly hurt her unborn child. I decided to opt out."

These pharmacists are not alone. Pharmacists for Life International (PFLI) is an organization a of thousands of pharmacists worldwide, plus hundreds of other health professionals, pharmacy students, interns, pharmacy technicians, and the public, in the USA, Canada and worldwide. Founded in Cleveland, OH by four pharmacists of conscience, PFLI's founding statement from May 1984 states: "PFLI defends, upholds and protects the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death, regardless of age, biological stage, handicap or place of residence."

The fight for freedom by Pharmacists who want to maintain a career consistent with conscience is not over. California, New Jersey, Illinois and Washington State recently began requiring pharmacies to fill all prescriptions or counsel women other locations where they may be filled. At least another 10 states are currently considering such requirements.

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