These HHS rules with the wacky new abortion definition are not about pharmacist refusals. They’re about requiring organizations that accept Title X money (the nation’s family planning program for low income men and women, started under Nixon) - such as Planned Parenthood and other community health organizations - to hire people who would basically refuse to work.
Saletan has a good reductio ad absurdum send up of the new rules.
The definition of abortion is so stupid and bad, but live by executive order, die by executive order. Should we elect Obama, in 165 days the HHS will probably be instructed to shift course. It’ll be like the Global Gag Rule - another stupid and bad rule which keeps being ordered and un-ordered, like a game of volleyball.
Pharmacist refusal is another thing, though they’re using the same definition of abortion. Most of the national pharmacy chains like CVS and Wal Mart (but not Target) have adopted policies stating that their pharmacies are required to dispense prescriptions without delay.
But at the end of the day, I don’t think this is really about the hypothetical abortion of pre-implantation, fertilized eggs. It’s about sex.