Dr. Kevin Martian operates Mayo Pharmacy, an independent pharmacy in Bismarck, North Dakota. As a Catholic, Martian believes that dispensing abortion-inducing drugs would violate his religious beliefs.
Martian is being represented in his lawsuit by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) where Andrea Dill is an attorney.
"Pharmacists should be free to live out their religious beliefs," she tells AFN, "and the Biden administration has attempted to require pharmacies that receive federal funding to dispense drugs for abortion purposes, even if the pharmacy or pharmacist has religious objections to doing so."
That mandate, says Dill, isn't only illegal – "[But it also] directly conflicts with federal and state law, and violates the religious exercise rights of pharmacies across the nation, including Mayo Pharmacy."
The mandate she references dates back to July 2022 when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told pharmacies that serve patients with Medicare, Medicaid, or other federally funded coverage to stock and dispense elective abortion drugs. The Biden administration threatens legal action against any pharmacy or pharmacist that does not comply.
"We urge the court to reject this unlawful attempt by the executive branch to usurp the right of states to protect innocent, unborn lives," the attorney adds.
The State of Texas filed suit over the mandate, and it is that lawsuit that Mayo Pharmacy is joining. State of Texas and Mayo Pharmacy v. Becerra is filed at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Midland/Odessa Division.
