Minnesota court rules pharmacist discriminated against woman in denying emergency contraception

By TRISHA AHMED
Associated Press/Report for America

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Court of Appeals has ruled that a pharmacist engaged in sex-based discrimination when he refused to provide emergency contraception to a woman in 2019. This comes less than two years after a district court jury ruled that the pharmacist did not engage in discrimination. A panel of three Appeals Court judges decided Monday that the woman is entitled to a new trial against the pharmacist and the pharmacy in central Minnesota. The pharmacist has said he refused to fill her prescription because he is a Christian who does not support abortion-causing drugs. Although Minnesota has protected abortion access, neighboring states have banned or severely restricted it.