Global Courant
For nearly three years now, Roscoe Rike has been collecting his hormone replacement therapy prescriptions from the same Walgreens in Oakland without a problem.
That changed Monday when the 30-year-old transgender man said he was denied his medication because of the pharmacist’s religious beliefs.
“It was just very surreal,” said Rike, who recorded part of the exchange at the pharmacy. “I know transphobia and transphobic people exist, but that was my first experience with a complete stranger doing something like that to my face.”
The exchange took place Monday morning at the Walgreens in the 5000 block of Telegraph Avenue.
In a statement, a Walgreens spokesperson said the company was unable to discuss specific patients but had policies in place to ensure all patients are served, even in the “very rare” situation where employees have a religious affiliation so they can’t help the customer.
“In the event that a team member has a religious or moral belief that prevents them from meeting a patient’s need, we require the team member to refer the patient to another employee or manager on duty who can complete the transaction,” the statement said. declaration. “However, these cases are very rare.”
The spokesperson confirmed that the company was reviewing the incident in Oakland.
On Monday, Rike said he spoke with a Walgreens employee earlier that day to make sure his medication was ready for pick up, but sensed something was wrong when the pharmacist behind the counter unexpectedly asked why he took the medication.
“I was like, ‘I don’t think that’s any of your business, really,'” Rike said. “I was a bit confused at first, but I immediately felt like, okay, we’re doing this.”
The pharmacist then told Rike that he would have to call his doctor to find out what the medication was for. When Rike backed out, the pharmacist told him he wouldn’t give him the prescription because of his religious beliefs.
Then Rike said he decided to record the meeting on his phone.
“So now you’re going to tell me you’re going to refuse me my medication because of your personal religion?” Rike can be heard saying in the video. “You are not my (expletive) doctor.”
The pharmacists are seen looking at a computer screen and silently clicking a mouse for a few seconds.
‘So you think you know better than my doctor? Is that what’s going on?” Rick asked.
“I just need to know your diagnosis,” replied the pharmacist.
“Why? That is none of your (effectual) business!” Rike said, “It’s always the religious people who have the most (expletive) hatred in their hearts. You’re disgusting.”
During the incident, Rike said the pharmacist had told him he could return to the store after noon, but that seemed unfair to him.
“Why should I have to wait two hours for something to be ready?” he said. “The only thing stopping me from getting my meds that my doctor prescribed is that this guy isn’t doing his job.”
When Rike asked to speak to the manager, he said the pharmacist ignored him.
Another employee contacted a manager, who apologized for the incident and gave Rike his medication.
Rike said he knows pharmacists are allowed to refer patients to someone else if they have a religious objection, but that doesn’t make sense.
“If you follow a religion that prevents you from doing your job and providing medical care to people, then you don’t have to be in the medical field to interact with the public,” he said.
Since Monday, Rike has been considering switching pharmacies or signing up for a home delivery service. He said he does not want to face a similar situation again.
However, he is hesitant to make any changes.
“There’s a part of me that says why do I have to change the way I do things? I didn’t do anything wrong,” he said. “I should just be able to go to my local pharmacy and get my meds like everyone else.”
