Catholic chemist working at Boots 'accused young woman of plotting chemical abortion when she picked up morning after pill'

The woman has told a hearing she was made to feel like a 'murderer'

She was nervous and embarrassed when she bought the morning-after pill

Pharmacist allegedly subjected customers to rants about his views

The chemist: There are different views on the subject, moral questions

A young woman was made to feel like a 'murderer' when she went to Boots to pick up the morning-after pill by a religious chemist, a court heard today.



Catholic chemist Piotr Majchrowicz allegedly accused the woman of plotting a 'chemical abortion' and offered her his hard-line views on birth control.

He regularly subjected Boots Pharmacy customers to rants about his views and, it is claimed, told the young woman: ‘Ending a life is ending a life, so be it on your conscience.’

Booth: Piotr Majchrowicz no longer works at the chemist in Blyth, Northumberland. He left in January 2012 after allegedly making a woman feel like a 'murderer' for asking for the morning-after pill

Polish-born Majchrowicz then made no effort to provide her with information about birth control and did not direct her to another pharmacy where she could obtain emergency contraception, the General Pharmaceutical Council heard.

When he was confronted by a GPC investigator, he insisted: ‘I have to tell patients I have views on the subject.’

Majchrowicz, who is facing a misconduct hearing in central London and being kicked out of the profession, claims he was reluctant to discuss his religion with customers.

Packets of the 'morning-after pill' Levonelle. Polish-born Mr Majchrowicz, a Catholic, is said to have delivered a sermon on the evils of contraception and ranted at customers - the hearing continues

He was working at a branch of Boots in Blyth, Northumberland, in January 2012 when he allegedly delivered a sermon on the evils of contraception to the young woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons.

‘She was told by the registrant that essentially what you are doing is a chemical abortion and you are ending a life,’ said John Hepworth, for the GPC.

He added: ‘This was his regular practice.

‘He was not at all sensitive to the patient who, by her own admission, was nervous and embarrassed when she came to seek the medication from him’, Mr Hepworth said. ‘There is no doubt that she was distressed.

'She had been made to feel like a ‘murderer’, he added.

Majchrowicz eventually dispensed the pill but was ‘clearly reluctant to do so’, the hearing was told.

The woman was said to be embarrassed and nervous when picking up the morning after pill at Boots in Blyth, Northumberland. (Posed by a model)

When she complained, he is said to have told investigators: ‘I always make sure the patient is aware there are different views on the subject, including that taking EHC (Emergency Hormonal Contraception) can lead to chemical abortion.’

He claims he did not willingly engage the patient on the ethics of birth control.

Majchrowicz told the hearing: ‘The first question about religion was from the patient.

‘She asked what my religion was so I replied I am a Catholic.

‘I explained to her that there are different views about the subject so she can make a fully informed decision, in case she didn’t know there were moral questions about the tablet.

‘I explained that some people can see the fertilised egg as a new being, as a new life.’

Panel chair Patrick Milmo QC said: ‘It is not clear to me what your position is in relation to this medicine.

‘Is it medicine that you are prepared to supply to patients who ask for it without a prescription?’

‘If they are properly informed, yes’, Majchrowicz said.

However, Mr Majchrowicz claims he did not tell the woman 'so be it on your conscience.’

Quizzed further about the ethics of birth control, he said: ‘Some people can treat it as ending a life - including me’.

When asked about the distress he had caused the woman, he replied: ‘I’m not her but if she says she got upset she was probably upset.

‘I couldn’t see it at that time. Even the assistant said she was quite happy and it would be nice to get more customers like that’, Majchrowicz said.

Majchrowicz also said that records of his remarks during an internal investigation were ‘not accurate at all’.

Majchrowicz is no longer working for Boots.

‘I feel it is dangerous for pharmacists to work there at the moment’, he said.

If found guilty of misconduct, Majchrowicz could be kicked out of the profession.

The hearing continues.