If you don't exercise your conscience, it gets flabby.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune has shown once again its truly amazing ability to pick the wrong (and I do mean wrong, as in "incorrect" or "immoral") side of almost every issue of import. Wednesday's editorial, "Editorial: Mavericks/Get them out of pharmacies" is a truly amazing piece of work. The hypocrisy is so blatant that one would, in charity, want to think it was a piece of satire. Sadly, it is not.

Speaking of pharmacists who refused to fill prescriptions for birth control and abortifacients, the Strib says, "[State law] does not allow Pamida or any other pharmacy to let pharmacists 'exercise their consciences,' which a spokesman for Pamida said is company policy." Think about this statement. Think about the sneer quotes. For activists on the Left, the conscience is a trump card which supersedes any and all moral codes. We are constantly told that it is admirable for students to defy school authorities, or women to get an abortions, or soldiers to refuse to follow orders, if their consciences tell them to do so. (And, except for the case of abortion, there are certainly times when such actions could be demanded by conscience.) Conscience is repeatedly invoked as an excuse to ignore or break a moral law. But as soon as a person's conscience actually convicts them of a wrong and, by following their conscience they follow a moral law, then all Hell breaks loose.

The hate speech from those who oppose orthodox Christianity is growing more and more strident. Pharmacists who refuse to materially participate in grave immorality are labeled "mavericks" and are told they should find another trade. This is extremely disturbing.

The article also states that one of the main dangers of allowing pharmacists to follow their consciences is, "Especially in small towns, maverick pharmacists can thwart the delivery of professional health care, not to mention violate the privacy rights of people attempting to fill a perfectly legal prescription." Their solution is that these people should instead not be allowed to be pharmacists. Tell me again how removing the pharmacist completely will help these people in small towns do get their prescriptions filled?