by Eric Quade ¦ Barron News Shield ¦ 25 June 2008

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has declined to take up a pharmacist's ethics-based case where he was reprimanded for failing to fill a birth control order because of his religious beliefs.

The state's highest court noted June 10 that it would not be reviewing a recent state appellate court's conclusion that Neil T. Noesen, 34, wasn't wronged when the Wisconsin Pharmacy Examining Board disciplined him.

The former Barron resident had been employed as a pharmacist at a Menomonie, Wis., K-Mart in 2002 when he refused to fill a birth control prescription based on his Roman Catholic beliefs.

The state pharmacy board responded in 2005 by requiring Noesen to attend ethics training, notify employers of his beliefs on dispensing birth control and come up with a plan as to how he would ensure patients have access to medication in the future.

After a state appellate court upheld the sanctions, the Thomas More Society filed an appeal in April with the Wisconsin Supreme Court on behalf of Noesen. The organization maintained that Noesen was being treated unfairly because of his religious beliefs.

The state's highest court turned down the opportunity to review the case, however.