A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit centered on pharmacists’ refusals to fill prescriptions for ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, ruling that the refusals were not illegal.
The arguments in the suit, centered on the right to self-determination, were wrong according to U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz, a George W. Bush appointee.
“It is one thing to say that a patient has the right to refuse medical treatment. It is quite another thing to say that a patient has the right to force a medical provider to provide a particular type of medical treatment against his or her professional judgment. As far as the Court knows, not a single state has recognized such a right,” he said.
The conduct of the pharmacists who refused to fill the prescriptions were not “extreme and outrageous,” the threshold for intentional infliction of emotional distress, the judge also said, in part because when the refusals happened, “every major medical authority and government agency that had addressed the issue had said that ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine should not be used to treat COVID‐19.”
Even if the plaintiffs made plausible claims, the action was required to be dismissed because plaintiffs failed to provide expert testimony, and an extension for providing such testimony was turned down because the suit did not outline such claims, the ruling also stated.
“We appreciate the Court dismissing the Complaint. Our pharmacists have exercised their professional judgement with these prescriptions, including refusing to fill them, and we stand behind them on this issue,” Randy Hargrove, a Walmart spokesman, told The Epoch Times in an email.
Supermarket chain Hy-vee did not respond to a request for comment.
Complaint
William Salier, a Minnesota resident, contracted COVID-19 in October 2021 and experienced serious symptoms. He tried obtaining monoclonal antibodies from the state, but was unsuccessful. Attempts to get antibodies or ivermectin from a clinic in Iowa were rejected.
William Salier turned to Dr. Mollie James, who saw him in a telehealth session and wrote prescriptions for several drugs, including ivermectin. The prescriptions were sent to a Walmart in Minnesota.
But a pharmacist there called Karla Salier, William Salier’s wife, and informed her that Walmart would not fill the prescription because ivermectin “was not appropriate to treat COVID-19 patients,” according to the lawsuit.
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