RxRights Responds to Washington Post editorial
posted Fri, 6 Jan 2012Lee Graczyk, RxRights lead organizer, felt compelled to respond to a recent Washington Post editorial about the problem of Internet piracy and the legislation that has been crafted to address it. Though we have not had much luck getting the Post to publish Lee's responses in the past, he continues to try, and wanted to share his latest effort.
The Post editorial board was on target in stating that the Stop Online Piracy Act's (SOPA) definition of a rogue site is dangerously overbroad and could threaten legitimate Web sites ["A fair block on Internet piracy" editorial, Jan. 3.] Its explanation, however, could go further to discuss the implications SOPA would have on Americans who import their medications from legitimate pharmacies.
Hundreds of thousands of Americans--90,000 people in Florida alone--rely on ordering vital prescription medications from safe, licensed Canadian and other international pharmacies, mostly due to the exorbitant costs of prescription drugs in the U.S. If passed, SOPA would take away Americans’ access to these pharmacies. This is because the bill inappropriately groups together real pharmacies--licensed, legitimate pharmacies that require a doctor’s prescription and sell brand-name medications--and the rogues that sell everything from diluted or counterfeit medicine to narcotics without a prescription.
As legislators continue to move forward with SOPA, as well as its Senate counterpart, the PROTECT IP Act, they should recognize this is not only an Internet infrastructure and security matter, but also a grave health concern.