Sister of Mean to Intrude On Private Business

The newest liberal heroine--Barbara Boxer--is trying to push through legislation that will force private businesses to sell items they find morally reprehensible:

Washington -- Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, citing reports that pharmacists have turned away women seeking birth control pills, has introduced legislation that she says would protect American women's access to contraception.

Boxer's proposal would require all pharmacies to fill all prescriptions or refer customers to someone who will, despite pharmacists' religious or ethical objections to the nature of the prescription.

The legislation, similar to a proposal in California that two state Senate committees will consider next week, came in response to reports from a dozen states that women have been turned away by pharmacists who wouldn't fill doctors' prescriptions for birth control pills or for "morning-after pills,'' which are known as emergency contraceptives. In some cases, women say they were also lectured by pharmacists.

Doesn't Boxer get it? Sorry, stupid question. The right to sell whatever you wish, if legal, is as old as America itself. Capitalism dictates that if a pharmacist chooses not to sell the "morning after" pill, they should not be forced by the government to do so and they will suffer by lower revenue. Boxer knows full well that a handful of pharmacies that don't sell this particular drug does not mean limited access.

What would Senator Boxer say if a pharmacist refused to sell cigarettes or other tobacco products? Would she enact legislation forcing the pharmacy to ensure access to that particular product?