November 2007 Ethics Dunces

Pope Benedict XVI

The Pope's ill-considered advice theoretically opens the door for a mass pharmacist conspiracy, doesn't it? Imagine an elaborate plot to place as many conscientious birth-control objectors as possible in white coats across the land, making it harder and harder for "immoral" women to get contraceptives! That, presumably, would please Benedict XVI no end, and it would be, of course, as unethical as it is unlikely.

Not that the Pope doesn't have lots of good company in his ethical confusion (I suppose it would be better to say that other who agree with His Holiness are the ones in good company: if you're going to advocate unethical conduct, it's good to at least have a Pope on your side). The legislature of Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi and South Dakota have all passed laws allowing pharmacists to duck their duties. And what happens to a young woman in need of birth control medication in a rural area in these states with no other pharmacy nearby? She's just out of luck, I guess…but at least her plight makes the Pope happy.

There is no avoiding the conclusion that Popes are people too, and as all people do, they will make bad ethical decisions, even truly wretched ethical decisions that qualify them as Ethics Dunces. But when so many people across the globe think you are infallible, being an Ethics Dunce is something to be avoided at all costs.

*You can read the Scoreboard's previous commentary on the pharmacist issue at http://ethicsscoreboard.com/list/pharmacists.html