Walgreens said Thursday it has suspended four Illinois pharmacists without pay for refusing to fill prescriptions for the morning-after pill in violation of a state rule. The pharmacists said their objections stemmed from religious or moral beliefs. Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich issued a rule April 1, 2005 demanding that pharmacists make the pill available "without [...]

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The Japanese government is preparing a legislative proposal that would amend the country's succession law, the 1947 Imperial Household Law , to allow female monarchs. Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said Thursday that a 15-member team has been established to work on a bill to be submitted when parliament reconvenes in January. The proposal will [...]

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Defense lawyers for Zacarias Moussaoui are seeking to ask jurors in the upcoming sentencing trial for their opinions on Islam, the FBI's performance in several high-profile investigations and for their personal reactions to the September 11 attacks , according to proposed jury questions submitted to the court Wednesday. Earlier this year, Moussaoui pleaded guilty to [...]

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The Argentinean Congress passed a law Wednesday making all Argentinean citizens potential organ donors unless they specifically reject that status. Argentine President Nestor Kirchner first proposed the bill to his Congress last year; it was previously approved by the Chamber of Deputies before being unanimously passed by the Senate on Wednesday. Argentine Vice President Daniel [...]

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Health officials said Wednesday that state laws which prohibit a mercury-based vaccine preservative could impede efforts to fight an avian flu pandemic should an outbreak occur. At a meeting of the US Department of Health and Human Services National Vaccine Advisory Committee (NVAC) , the healthcare officials said that six states have already enacted legislation [...]

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