CloseUp - Paula Koch
By Paula Koch
September/October 2001 Family Voice

Paula Koch is a pharmacist working in a federal outpatient clinic in Kansas. She has stood strong in her refusal to fill prescriptions for a drug that causes abortions.

How did this all begin?
Six months into my current job, I saw a prescription for the morning-after pill [which, when taken within 72 hours after intercourse, prevents implantation and kills the embryo]. I didn’t even think about the possibility that I would have to dispense that when I took the position.

What did you do?
As a pharmacist, I took an oath to protect life, and to me there is a life that this medication might destroy. So, I told my pharmacy supervisor I was not comfortable dispensing this medication. He was willing to dispense it for me when he’s in the pharmacy, but he felt I would need to do so when he wasn’t there. I suggested that the doctors could dispense the medication themselves on those occasions. Initially the chief physician agreed, but later changed her mind. She told me I didn’t have the option to refuse. I had to find a lawyer to represent me in order to keep my position.

Are there laws to protect pharmacists from these situations?
The spirit of the law permits pharmacists from dispensing medication they feel will harm the patient, but we do not have the same clearly defined conscience clauses that doctors were granted after Roe v. Wade. Now that technology has involved pharmacists in types of abortion and euthanasia, we should be given the same protection. But so far this protection exists only in one state, South Dakota.

So has this come to a conclusion?
I received confirmation in late June that my beliefs would be accommodated. It has ended exactly as I had requested. So many wonderful opportunities have come from this to express my faith. It is so neat to see that God has instilled a commitment to His will in me, that I wouldn’t think twice about taking this stand. I’m really a quiet person, a people pleaser. But God gave me the desire to be faithful. Because of that faithfulness to my calling, God has shown how He can use me.

How has this affected your work?
We have new pharmacy students doing rotations with us every month. I’m now able to pull them aside. I tell them we have the morning-after pill [also know as “emergency contraception”], and it is their choice to dispense it or not. It gives every student a chance to think, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to challenge the students to consider what they believe.

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