Newsroom
PRESS STATEMENT: Women Must Have Timely Access to Birth Control Services
Wayne C. Shields
President and CEO
Association of Reproductive Health Professionals (ARHP)
For Immediate Release
April 1, 2005
Contact: Ann McCall
Phone: (202) 466-3825
E-mail: communications@arhp.org
ARHP advocates for a separation between personal ideology and access to complete reproductive health care services. Pharmacists should not deny women timely access to birth control, including emergency contraception.
Health care providers who do not provide contraception for moral or religious reasons have a professional obligation to provide their patients with a timely referral to another medical professional known to provide such services, and to inform their patients that they are being referred because of the provider's personal beliefs, not for professional, medical reasons. An individual provider's religious or moral beliefs must not impair the quality of medical care available.
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The Association of Reproductive Health Professionals (ARHP) is the leading
source for trusted medical education and information on reproductive and sexual
health. ARHP educates health care providers, informs consumers, and helps shape
public policy. ARHP is a non-profit membership association composed of highly
qualified and committed experts in reproductive health. ARHP members are health
professionals in clinical practice, education, research, and advocacy and they
include physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurse midwives,
researchers, educators, pharmacists, and other professionals in reproductive
health. To learn more, visit: http://www.arhp.org.
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