Illinois Pharmacy Rules Argued Before State Supreme Court

Yesterday, the Illinois Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Morr-Fitz v. Blagojevich. In the case, a state appellate court had dismissed on justiciability grounds a challenge to State Pharmacy Board rules requiring drug stores to fill prescriptions for the "morning-after" pill, even where doing so violates a pharmacist's religious or moral beliefs. (See prior posting.) According to AP, the state argued to the Supreme Court that the pharmacists lack standing to pursue their lawsuit. Plaintiffs argued that they should be able to sue to protect their rights before their careers are ruined by license suspensions. A video of the oral arguments is available online from the Illinois Supreme Court's website.