WE Blog

The customer is always right — except, these days, when it’s a woman trying to buy an emergency contraceptive. There is lots of public support for the idea that pharmacists shouldn’t be forced to fill prescriptions that conflict with their moral beliefs. But a pharmacy is a business, and it’s bad business to put the customer in the situation of being judged, perhaps scolded and refused service just for trying to fill a legal prescription. That’s what happened at a Wichita Walgreens in December, and it rightly prompted a protest this week.
Posted by Rhonda Holman

The packed hearing room and emotional testimony Thursday at the Capitol. The 73,000-plus signatures on petitions after last summer’s torture and death of the puppy Magnum. The public outcry in the pages of The Eagle and in media across the state. As our editorial today notes, all indications are that Kansans are ready to make the worst kind of animal cruelty a felony punishable by jail time and sizable fines. That’s appropriate, as Kansas is one of only nine states that treats animal abuse as a misdemeanor. As lawmakers seek the right balance among proposed bills, they also should be mindful of what cracking down on animal abusers will cost in prison beds and more. Like all “lock ‘em up” legislation, a felony animal abuse law will be easy to pass, harder to pay for.
Posted by Rhonda Holman