January 27, 2006

WASHINGTON—The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) is suing Walgreens on behalf of four pharmacists in Illinois who were fired after they requested that the company accommodate their religious objections to dispensing the “morning-after pill.”

The ACLJ, the nation’s leading public interest law firm focusing on the protection of religious liberties, filed the lawsuits today in Madison County, Ill. The suits claim that by firing pharmacists Richard Quayle, Kelly Hubble, Carol Muzzarelli, and John Menges, Walgreens violated the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act, which makes it unlawful for any employer “to discriminate against any person in any manner . . . because of such person’s conscientious refusal . . . to participate in any way in any form of health care services contrary to his or her conscience.”

“It couldn’t be any clearer,” said Francis J. Manion, ACLJ senior counsel. “In punishing these pharmacists for asserting a right protected by the Conscience Act, Walgreens broke the law.”

This is the latest in a series of legal actions against Walgreens by the ACLJ. In December 2005, the ACLJ filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on behalf of the same pharmacists, charging Walgreens with discrimination. The ACLJ is also representing the pharmacists in lawsuits against the governor of Illinois and the state’s Department of Professional Regulation over the recently enacted regulation that forces pharmacists to dispense the “morning-after pill.” Both of these matters are pending.

“Walgreens has been trying to excuse its callous firing of these four pharmacists by blaming the governor and his unlawful executive order. But none of the other major retail pharmacies have interpreted the order the way Walgreens has,” said Manion. “The others are doing what the law actually requires—they’re accommodating those pharmacists who object to dispensing these drugs while, at the same time, serving all of their customers. For whatever reason, Walgreens chose not to respect its pharmacists. That’s why we’re going to court.”

Steve Stobbs, with the Alton, Ill., firm of Stobbs and Sinclair, Ltd., and Edward Martin of Americans United for Life, are serving as co-counsel with ACLJ in these cases.

The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) is the nation’s leading national public interest law firm defending religious liberty. Led by Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, the ACLJ focuses on constitutional law and is based in Washington, D.C.