A PHARMACIST has stopped selling contraceptives because of his strong religious beliefs. Trevor Dal Broi is telling women using oral contraceptive pills for birth control to take their scripts to another chemist.
He removed condoms from his East Griffith Pharmacy several weeks ago and has banned the sale of emergency contraception morning-after pills.
These pills have been available without a prescription for between $20 and $30 since 2004.
Mr Dal Broi is handing out a leaflet to women with scripts for the contraceptive pill saying that he accepts the official teaching of the Catholic Church against the use of artificial contraception and has a moral objection to dispensing them.
Mr Dal Broi, who is married with four children, yesterday refused to comment.
NSW Deputy Premier and Health Minister Carmel Tebbutt said there was no legislation that compelled a pharmacist to stock or supply any particular type of medicine or therapeutic device.
"But health professionals know the very important role that condoms play in the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases," she said. "People in Griffith will make their own choices about where to shop."
A Griffith pharmacist said it would be unprofessional to comment on another pharmacist's religious beliefs but said he was also a Catholic and had no qualms about providing contraceptives. "But I have my thoughts and I think the Church is losing the plot if it encourages this sort of thing."
Family Planning NSW chief executive officer Ann Brassil said the organisation had been promoting safe sex for more than 80 years. "We have a strong belief that contraception of any variety, be it condoms or the pill, should be freely available to all women and should be readily available from all pharmacies," she said.
"Without access to condoms and contraceptives, particularly condoms, we have high rates of unplanned pregnancies and high rates of sexually transmitted infections.
"These rates will be much higher if access is cut off."
Griffith resident Alison Dance, 18, said women in the town, with a population of more than 16,000, were outraged.
''Schools try their best to educate kids about condoms and the pill to prevent sexual diseases and unwanted pregnancies. He's doing the exact opposite. It's outrageous,'' Ms Dance said.
''A pharmacist is a bit like a doctor. They have a responsibility to look after you. They are someone whose advice you're supposed to trust. To be [refused] service because it's something he doesn't personally believe in is wrong.''
Pharmacy Guild of Australia national secretariat spokesman Greg Turnbull said Griffith had a number of pharmacies and people therefore did not have to go to Mr Dal Broi's.
"As far as condoms are concerned, people can buy them almost anywhere - in supermarkets, in hotel rest rooms and in petrol stations - so, really, a pharmacist choosing not to sell them is no big deal," he said.
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