Rights misunderstood

A new bill has been introduced in Congress--The Access to Birth Control Act was introduced last Wednesday. I've always thought that birth control took place before intercourse so I think this bill is misnamed since it deals with the Morning After pill. This bill would require pharmacies to carry the Morning After pill (also called Plan B)

This bill is perceived as necessary since apparently not all pharmacies carry these medications. NARAL recently conducted a survey in N.C. and found that about 40% of pharmacies there did not carry the pills. (see the article)

The logical conclusion for NARAL and those who are sponsoring this bill is that pharmacies must be mandated to provide the Morning After pill for women seeking it. I wonder if after achieving this they would seek to mandate how close such pharmacies need to be, ensuring that a woman is never more than say 1 hour from a pharmacy?

Those pushing for this law make the illogical jump from an existing right (which I dispute) to mandating that others provide the right. Such thinking is a perversion of rights. My right to free speach does not mean you must listen to me. My right to bear arms does not mean the government must provide me with a gun, nor does it mean stores must be mandated to sell them.

This bill is scary for many reasons. It tramples the religous freedom of any pharmacy that has a religous objection to dispensing these medications. It impedes any pharmacy that might wish to withold the MAP for health concerns. It seeks to violate the freedom of the pharmacies to conduct business as they wish.

But besides all this, it turns the concept of rights on its head--declaring that a right not only guarantees my freedom, but impinges on yours.