My Grown Up Letter To APhA

It's odd sometimes, the duality of the Drugmonkey/real life thing. You think Steven Colbert ever got confused as to which Steven he was? Probably not, but others sure as hell do over this type of thing. Rite Aid couldn't figure it out, and I will be forever grateful to them for it.

Anyway, this APhA/Lloyd Duplantis situation calls for more than the snarky Drugmonkey treatment. It's a serious problem that they seriously are gonna have to deal with. So this is the serious, grownup, not in character letter that I sent to CEO Thomas E. Menighan and the PR person who wrote the press release announcing the award.

Serious and grownup, posted at the home of the snarky Drugmonkey. You figure it out.

_________________


Mr. Menighan,

I am writing to you to express my utter dismay at the selection by the Louisiana Pharmacists Association of Lloyd Duplantis as that state's recipient of the APhA Foundation's "Bowl of Hygeia" award. While Mr. Duplantis has gained some notoriety as a member of a movement by pharmacists to refuse to dispense oral contraceptives to women, there is another, far more disturbing aspect to his work that I can only hope you are not aware of.

In 2010, Mr. Duplantis self-published a book entitled "The Pill, America's Sacred Cow" in which he outlines his opposition to hormonal birth control. While a complete debunking of the inaccuracies, use of pseudo-science to mask religious dogma, and flat out wrong statements presented as fact in this book is beyond the scope of this letter, there is a particular part of this work, which now has the tacit endorsement of APhA, that you need to hear. I start with the following quote:

"It is proposed by several researchers that the constant bathing of the female ovaries with exogenous female sex hormones affects the complex chromosome balance of the ovum while still in the ovary. This is hypothesized as a factor in the increased occurrence of effeminate men in the American population with the subsequent practice of homosexuality resulting in the rampant spread of HIV and AIDS infections."

Lest you think that was a quick statement of a fleeting thought. Later in the book there is an entire chapter espousing the bizarre theory that:

1) High dose estrogen contraceptives produce "effeminate men,"  which leads to an increase of the number of homosexuals in a given population.

2) These pills were tested in Haiti in the 1950s, leading to an above average number of gay men by the 1970s

3) A large group of Haitians traveled to the African nation of Zaire in the 70s, where errant vaccine experiments had led to the creation of the AIDS virus.

4) These Haitians then contracted the virus, brought the disease back to Haiti, and from there it spread throughout North America.

I can assure you Mr. Menighan, that is only the most egregious thing to be found in that book. There is plenty more where that came from. And now, through the APhA Foundation, these ideas have the implicit support of your organization. It would be one thing if you could claim lackluster vetting led to your foundation being unaware of this toxic work, but it is listed front and center on the press release announcing the award!!

Let me be clear. APhA has praised the notion that homosexuality is a medical disorder and lent credence to an incredulous "theory" about the start of the AIDS epidemic in the United States. You have no idea how much I wish I could go back to simply calling your organization ineffective.

I understand that you personally were most likely not involved in the decision to bestow this award on Mr. Duplantis, but that award has the name of the American Pharmacists Association on it, and as its Chief Executive Officer you are responsible and are to be held accountable for everything the organization does. It is up to you to limit the damage that has been done, and only a revocation of the honor given out in your name and complete repudiation of the repugnant ideas of Mr. Duplantis can begin to remedy this situation.

I look forward to hearing how you plan to act in this matter.

I will follow up this email with a certified letter to ensure you receive this important communication.