Minn. Court Rules Pharmacist Who Denied Contraception Discriminated Against Woman

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Court of Appeals has ruled that a pharmacist who refused to provide emergency contraceptives to a customer because of his personal beliefs engaged in discrimination.

The three-judge panel ruled Monday that pharmacist George Badeaux engaged in business discrimination in 2019 when he wouldn’t fill a prescription for an emergency contraception that is used to stop a pregnancy before it starts. The customer seeking the prescription said she then traveled about 100 miles (160 kilometers) round trip from the pharmacy in McGregor to another pharmacy in Brainerd, where she filled the prescription.

The customer, Andrea Anderson, later filed a lawsuit claiming discrimination under Minnesota’s Human Rights Act.

“Badeaux’s refusal to dispense emergency contraception because it may interfere with a pregnancy is sex discrimination,” Judge Jeanne Cochran wrote in the ruling.

The appeals court decision means the case will either be appealed to the Minnesota Supreme Court or returned to district court, where a jury in 2022 found the pharmacist had not discriminated but that Anderson was owed $25,000 because of emotional harm. However, Anderson couldn’t collect that money because there was no finding of discrimination.

Jess Braverman — an attorney for Anderson and the legal director of Gender Justice, an advocacy organization for gender equity — said this may be the first ruling in the country to find that a refusal to dispense emergency contraception is a form of sex discrimination. Alison Tanner, senior litigation counsel for reproductive rights and health at the National Women’s Law Center, agreed.

Braverman said the ruling made clear to Minnesota businesses “that you can’t just turn away patients