The Croatian Chamber of Pharmacists said on Tuesday that a Zagreb pharmacist who recently invoked conscientious objection to refuse to issue prescribed birth control pills to a woman customer did not violate the chamber's code of ethics.

The case stirred up some controversy earlier this month and raised questions on whether the right to conscientious objection commonly afforded to doctors also extends to pharmacists. According to media reports, the pharmacist told her customer that although she objected issuing birth control pills, the customer was free to come later in the day when another pharmacist would be on duty.

In making its ruling, the chamber referred to an article of its ethics code which says that a pharmacist has the right to conscientious objection if it does not jeopardise the patient’s health or life.

The chamber said that it respected both the patients’ right to be given medicine they need and the pharmacists’ right to conscientious objection, and said that pharmacies should set up shifts in such a way to provide all patients with medicines and advice.

The chamber said that only two such cases of pharmacists as conscientious objectors have been recorded over the past five years in Croatia’s entire network of nearly 1,200 pharmacies, and added that steps should be taken to make sure that in such rare cases patients are not denied their service.

The chamber’s ruling seems to be in conflict with the opinion of Health Minister Milan Kujundzic, who earlier this month commented on the case and said that it was unacceptable.

Kujundzic said that any patient has the right to obtain a medicine for which they have a prescription, at any pharmacy, and that a pharmacist “has the right to conscientious objection, but not in their workplace.”

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