Choice Ireland

Posted: Wed 08/09/2010 by Niall Hunter, Editor - www.irishhealth.com

GPs should not have the right to refuse to prescribe the morning after pill on religious or moral grounds, according to two-thirds of respondents in our latest readers' poll.

Recently, a GP in Co Kerry refused to prescribe the morning after pill to a woman "on religious and ethical grounds" and the patient was forced to travel to Cork the next day to get a prescription.

The incident led to a call from the Choice Ireland group and the Irish Pharmacy Union to make the emergency pill an over-the-counter product available without prescription, as it is in the UK.

We asked our viewers whether they felt GPs should continue to have the right to refuse to prescribe the morning after pill.

Sixty-six percent said no, 31% said yes and 3% were not sure. Around 300 people voted in the poll