In what seems to be a first-of-its-kind case, a veteran Minnesota pharmacist went on trial Monday accused of violating the civil rights of a mom of 5 by refusing to fill her prescription for emergency contraception.
Andrea Anderson, based on a civil lawsuit filed beneath the Minnesota Human Rights Act, sought the morning-after capsule Ella in January 2019 on the solely pharmacy in her hometown, McGregor (inhabitants 391), after a condom broke throughout intercourse.
“She acted shortly as a result of any delay in acquiring emergency contraception will increase the chance of being pregnant,” the criticism states.
Thrifty White Pharmacy.Google Maps
However George Badeau, who had been allotting medication from the McGregor Thrifty White pharmacy for a number of many years, refused to fill Anderson’s prescription, claiming it will violate his “beliefs,” based on the criticism.
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“Badeaux knowledgeable her that there can be one other pharmacist working the subsequent day, who is perhaps prepared to fill the remedy however that he couldn’t assure that they might assist,” the criticism states.
Badeaux additionally warned Anderson in opposition to attempting to get the prescription crammed at a Shopko pharmacy in a close-by city and refused to inform her the place else she may strive, as required by state legislation, the criticism states.
One other pharmacist at a CVS within the metropolis of Aitkin additionally blocked Anderson from getting the prescription crammed. She wound up touring 100 miles spherical journey, “whereas an enormous snowstorm was headed to central Minnesota,” to get the prescription crammed at Walgreens in Brainerd, based on the criticism.
Anderson is looking for unspecified damages and needs an injunction requiring Badeaux and the pharmacy he works for to observe state legislation, which prohibits discrimination based mostly on intercourse, together with points associated to being pregnant and childbirth.
The Badeaux trial, which started with jury choice Monday, comes because the once-dormant debate over contraception was rekindledafter the Supreme Court docket overturned Roe v. Wade — and by outstanding lawmakers like Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., who brazenly query the constitutionality of contraception.
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Final week, the U.S. Home handed a invoice that will assure the suitable to contraception beneath federal legislation.
Anderson is being represented by legal professionals from Gender Justice, which relies in St. Paul, Minnesota. Neither her legal professionals nor Badeaux’s representatives are commenting on the case.
A spokeswoman for Gender Justice stated the Anderson case seems to be the primary within the nation dropped at trial by a girl who was refused contraception.
Initially, Anderson’s lawsuit included CVS as a defendant.
In court docket papers, Anderson stated that after she was rebuffed by Badeaux, she known as the CVS in Aitkin, the place a feminine technician informed her she couldn’t fill her Ella prescription and falsely informed her she wouldn’t be capable to get it crammed in Brainerd, both.
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Anderson and CVS reached a settlement earlier than the case went to trial, and she or he acquired unspecified compensation, court docket information revealed.
NBC Information requested CVS for the small print of the settlement and to see whether or not the technician confronted any self-discipline, nevertheless it hasn’t heard again from the pharmaceutical large.
After Anderson obtained her prescription crammed, she known as the Thrifty White pharmacy and complained about how Badeaux handled her to proprietor Matt Hutera, court docket papers present.
Badeaux has refused to fill prescriptions for contraceptives at the least three different instances as a result of he believes they trigger abortions, the papers present. He stated he objected to allotting Ella, saying it may presumably forestall a fertilized egg from implanting within the uterus.
“It’s much like eradicating all care from a new child youngster by throwing it out the backdoor into the woods,” he stated in a court docket submitting.
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However Ella doesn’t induce abortions. It’s a prescription drug that stops a girl from changing into pregnant within the first place when it’s taken inside 5 days of unprotected intercourse, based on the producer.
“If a person is already pregnant, which means that fertilized egg has implanted of their uterus, emergency contraception ‘Is not going to cease or hurt the being pregnant,’” Anderson’s legal professionals stated of their criticism.
Aitkin County District Choose David Hermerding has already dominated that Badeaux can’t elevate federal constitutional points comparable to freedom of faith on the trial, though he will probably be allowed to clarify his beliefs to the jury.
“The difficulty for the jury is just not defendant’s constitutional rights,” the decide wrote. “It’s whether or not he intentionally misled, obfuscated and blocked Ms. Anderson’s path to acquiring Ella.”
MADISON, Wis. – Steven Crowl got run into by Minnesota forward Frank Mitchell with a head of steam. No foul was called, much to the frustration of the Wisconsin bench. When the Badgers coaching staff and reserves saw next, it elicited a different reaction.
Crowl drove to the open lane with Mitchell out of position and the bench erupted with fist pumps after he finished with his right hand, again through contact from Mitchell for a three-point play. It added to the momentum of a big second half that turned a close game into an 80-59 Wisconsin rout over the Gophers at the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin (13-3, 4-2 Big Ten) ran its winning streak to five games and as the Badgers and Crowl continued mastery over the Gophers. UW has won eight straight against its border rivals and Crowl – following his team-high 18 points – is averaging 15.7 points on 66.1 percent shooting in six career starts against his home-state team.
John Tonje added 11 of his 16 points in the second half, as the Badgers shot 57.7 percent in the second half to outscore Minnesota, 50-30.
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Wisconsin went 11-for-28 from three, three of which came on a 13-2 run early in the second half that pushed the lead to double digits. Nolan Winter (eight points), John Blackwell (nine), and Crowl all hit from the perimeter over a 2-minute, 40-second run, hitting as many threes as UW hit the entire first half.
Dawson Garcia was the only player in double figures for Minnesota (8-8, 0-5), finishing with a game-high 22.
The Badgers struggled out of the game with Kamari McGee (15 points) replacing Max Klesmit (right ankle) in the starting lineup. UW started 2-for-10 and got only marginally better throughout the half. McGee, Tonje, and Blackwell combined to shoot 4-for-18 from the floor, as UW shot only 32.3 percent (10-for-31).
Down as many as 10 in the opening minutes, UW chipped away at the deficit to lead at the break with its defense. The Badgers turned eight turnovers into nine points and 3-for-10 on shots around the rim.
Minnesota took the lead on a pair of Garcia free throws early in the second half, but UW outscored them, 40-12, over the next 12 minutes, and 40 seconds.
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What it means: The first half looked like what Wisconsin-Minnesota games have been the last few seasons, as the last five games have been decided by a total of 16 points. The second half looked like the Wisconsin offense we’re getting used to seeing.
Star of the game: Crowl was the only steady offensive weapon through both halves for Wisconsin. The graduate center had nine points on 3-for-4 shooting in the first half and nine points on 3-for-3 shooting in the second half.
Stat of the game: Wisconsin went 19-for-24 from the line while Minnesota was only 8-for-13.
Reason to be Concerned: Klesmit went through warmups but missed his first game in two years, not a surprise after hearing head coach Greg Gard talking about the injury Wednesday. How long Klesmit will be out, especially with some tougher competition coming up on the schedule, is a storyline.
Don’t overlook: Wisconsin has touted its depth since the beginning of the season but stuck with its same starting five and eight-to-nine-man rotation. Without Klesmit, McGee had 15 points, five rebounds, three steals, two assists, and is 3-for-4 on 3-point attempts in his first collegiate start.
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What’s next: Wisconsin stays at home for its opening against Ohio State on Tuesday night. The Buckeyes (10-6, 2-3) registered two of the Big Ten’s best out-of-conference wins in knocking off No.19 Texas and No.4 Kentucky on neutral sites but have struggled in conference play, having lost two of three with the one win coming in double overtime at Minnesota. Led by Bruce Thornton’s 17.1 points, Ohio State has four players averaging in double figures and seven players scoring at least 7.0 per game.
UW has won four of the last five meetings in the series. The tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. and will be televised on Peacock.
Crosby-Ironton four-star guard Tori Oehrlein verbally committed to the Gophers in November and it looks like they will have a future star when she arrives on campus in 2026. She has absolutely dominated to begin her junior campaign.
Oehrlein has been putting up unbelievable numbers all season, averaging 29.8 points, 16.7 rebounds, 9.5 assists and 7.3 steals per game — and her performance on Tuesday night might’ve been her most impressive.
The 5-foot-11 guard broke the Minnesota high school girls basketball state record with 21 assists in a 113-33 victory over Hinckley-Finlayson. She ended Tuesday night’s game with a ridiculous box score of 30 points, 21 assists, 12 rebounds and 12 steals, marking her third quadruple-double of the season.
Oehrlein is only a junior this year, so head coach Dawn Plitzuweit and the Gophers will have to wait more than a year until she’s able to play for Minnesota. Crosby-Ironton is a perfect 14-0 this season and Oehrlein looks like one of the best players in the state regardless of class.
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According to ESPN’s recruiting rankings, Oehrlein ranks No. 43 nationally in the class of 2026. The only high schooler in Minnesota who ranks high in 2026 is Kentucky commit Maddyn Greenway, who ranks 18th nationally.
Greenway, the daughter of former Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway, is averaging 31.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 4.8 steals per game at Providence Academy.
Another high school phenom who has been offered by the Gophers is Duluth Marshall ninth-grader Chloe Johnson. The class of 2028 recruit is averaging 28.7 points, 8.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 3.8 steals per game for the Hilltoppers.
Stay up to date on all things Gophers by bookmarking Minnesota Gophers On SI, subscribing to our YouTube Channel, and signing up to receive our free Gophers newsletter, which will enter you into a drawing for the EA College Gameday 25 video game (you choose between PS5 or Xbox).
Memphis Grizzlies (24-14, third in the Western Conference) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (20-17, seventh in the Western Conference)
Minneapolis; Saturday, 8 p.m. EST
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BOTTOM LINE: Minnesota heads into a matchup with Memphis as winners of three games in a row.
The Timberwolves are 16-10 in conference matchups. Minnesota is third in the Western Conference at limiting opponent scoring, giving up just 107.2 points while holding opponents to 45.4% shooting.
The Grizzlies are 11-11 against Western Conference opponents. Memphis ranks second in the league scoring 56.9 points per game in the paint led by Jaren Jackson Jr. averaging 12.1.
The Timberwolves average 15.1 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.5 more made shots on average than the 13.6 per game the Grizzlies allow. The Grizzlies average 13.9 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.4 more made shots on average than the 12.5 per game the Timberwolves give up.
TOP PERFORMERS: Anthony Edwards is averaging 25.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists for the Timberwolves.
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Jackson is scoring 22.6 points per game with 6.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists for the Grizzlies.
LAST 10 GAMES: Timberwolves: 6-4, averaging 107.5 points, 46.0 rebounds, 23.8 assists, 6.7 steals and 4.9 blocks per game while shooting 45.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 108.0 points per game.
Grizzlies: 5-5, averaging 122.8 points, 49.5 rebounds, 28.8 assists, 9.1 steals and 5.6 blocks per game while shooting 46.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 120.0 points.
INJURIES: Timberwolves: Rob Dillingham: out (ankle).
Grizzlies: Cam Spencer: day to day (thumb), Marcus Smart: out (finger), Vince Williams Jr.: out (ankle), GG Jackson II: out (foot ).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
