Saletan Follow-Up

To add a couple things to Bean’s post below, there’s another glaring flaw with respect to Saletan’s argument here:

One of this country’s greatest achievements is its separation of legality from morality, so that individuals can hold themselves to a higher standard, as they see it, without forcing it on everyone else.

I don’t actually agree with the claim that relatively libertarian social policies represent the “separation of legality from morality”; liberty and the right of consenting adults to arrange their relationships as they see fit are important moral values too. But that aside, Saletan’s point has some merit when it comes to drugstores that refuse to sell condoms; if they want to let other drug stores, gas stations, convenience stores, etc. take the profits I don’t really care. But when it comes to prescription contraceptives, however, that’s a different matter. Saletan’s ode to “the separation of law and morality” omits the obvious fact that some pharmacies in rural areas are in the position to significantly burden the access women have to oral contraceptives because they have been granted a highly profitable state-granted licence. When the state gives pharmacists a monopoly over the distribution of some drugs, it can also place reasonable restrictions on the ability of pharmacists to deny contraceptives to women based on their personal beliefs. If Saletan wants to argue that this isn’t reasonable he can (although I wouldn’t agree), but either way the state is implicated. There’s no “separation of law and morality” when the state places some individuals in the role of gatekeeper.

In addition, to repeat what I’ve said before I also reject the idea that pharmacists who deny oral contraceptives to women are acting on “principle”, unless the principle being applied is “having it all ways.” It would be an act of principle for a pharmacist to resign, or not accept a state-granted licence, because fulfilling their responsibilities would conflict with their moral beliefs. The High Moral Principle involved in wanting to get paid even though you’re not willing to do your job is much less obvious.