The Sporting Life: Government should stay out of businesses' decisions

Brent Lawrence, who thinks he would look good in Hooters attire, is copy editor and columnist for Springfield Business Journal.

I just don't understand why the government continually has to wade into our private business, muddying up the waters of private enterprise.

An Ohio state legislator recently introduced a bill that would give job protection to pharmacists who have moral objections to prescribing certain drugs. This apparently was the outgrowth of two recent Texas cases centered on birth control and/or abortion drugs.

A 32-year-old mom went to a CVS drug store in North Richmond Hills, Texas, but the pharmacist refused to fill the prescription for birth-control pills, citing moral objections, according to The Associated Press.

Earlier this year, an Eckerd pharmacist in Denton, Texas, was fired after he cited religious convictions and declined to fill a rape victim's prescription for the morning-after pill a hospital doctor prescribed.

It's unfortunate that this issue is about birth-control and/or abortion drugs because the sheer volatility of those issues will cloud the bigger picture.

But try to forget about the specific drugs and ask if a pharmacist should be allowed to cite personal convictions for, say, not filling a Viagra prescription? Or Ritalin?

No, an employee should not have the right to make this decision independent from the company's decision.

The point on this issue is that it's not the employee's decision to make. The pharmacy's owner gets to decide which drugs to carry, and employees should follow suit. If you want to make your own decisions, then have the intestinal fortitude to open your own shop.

Can you imagine going to Outback Steak House and the waitress not taking your order for steak because she is a vegetarian? Or a Hooters waitress deciding she didn't want to wear the orange shorts and tank top in favor of something else?

Should these people be protected by some law? Not hardly. It's a free market and employees have the right to make decisions based on their beliefs, and business owners should have the right to fire their butts based on their own beliefs the belief that you should be doing what you're paid to do.

Of course, maybe we should just get used to the government telling us what we can do with our lives.

The next thing you know they'll be telling private businesses they can't allow smoking.

Spring is here

Spring has finally arrived. No, it didn't come March 21, as my calendar says.

Spring arrived about 3:10 p.m. April 5 the first pitch of the St. Louis Cardinals' baseball season.

My best friend Anthony Tindall and I watched the game from beyond right field. We saw it all.

A beautiful spring day, warm sun, baseball and a few cold, frosty ones. Now those are good for the soul.

I only had two complaints about the day.

With President Bush's appearance to throw out the first pitch, security was much tighter than normal. The normally exuberant pregame celebration outside the stadium seemed a little subdued.

The Cardinals lost 8-6 to the Milwaukee Brewers.

Since we're talking baseball I'll leave you with a quick Q&A.

Question: What do you call a winning baseball team in Chicago?

Answer: The visitors.