Catholic pharmacists in Spain refuse to sell condoms

Málaga, Spain, Oct 17, 2005 / 22:00 pm

A group of pharmacists in Malaga, Spain, many of whom belong to the Spanish Association of Catholic Pharmacists, has refused to yield to pressure to sell condoms at their drug stores, arguing that their refusal is based on “conscientious objection.”

According to the Diario de Malaga, the pharmacists say their decision is based on the belief that “the selling of condoms involves a clear incitement to murder.” Therefore, they argue that the issue constitutes “in all cases, a problem of conscience.”

The decision has provoked a response from the Anti-AIDS Association of Malaga, which calls the matter “a very grave problem.”  “It’s true that we have received a lot of complaints about this decision,” said the organization’s secretary general, Alicia Cueto.

Despite complaints against the pharmacists, the Malaga newspaper points out that they are legally within their rights to conscientiously object to selling products “that go against their principles.” Leandro Martinez, spokesman for the College of Pharmacology in Malaga, said the complaints against the pharmacists were essentially unimportant.  “There are so many pharmacies in close proximity of one another that a customer who desires to purchase such a product can simply go to another one,” he said.