WalMart Refuses to Carry Emergency Contraceptives to Prevent Pregnancy

[flpoljunkie]

Emergency contraceptives prevent unwanted pregnancy and must be prescribed by physicians. That's right, WalMart, in essence, is refusing to help victims of rape.
____________________

Dear Valued Customer,

Thank you for contacting us at Walmart.com regarding women's
prescriptions for birth control. Your comments and concerns are very
important to us as we strive to meet your needs.

Wal-Mart does not carry emergency contraceptives. Our pharmacists may
decline to fill a prescription based on personal convictions. However,
they must find another pharmacist, either at Wal-Mart or another
pharmacy, who can assist you by filling your prescription.

Again, we thank you for your comments regarding this issue.

Sincerely,

Customer Service at Walmart.com

[Deep13]

1. Is it a pharmacy or a church?

Or maybe it is a cathedral to right-wing whores.

[fertilizeonarbusto]

2. Don't give those

fuckers money.

[me b zola]

36. We stopped shopping there

It was a little difficult, because we are skin-flints who are quite proud of the way we can make a dollar stretch. We skimp & save so that we can pay off the house early, hence keeping more of our $$ instead of making the mortgage co a little richer.

But we hate what they are doing to the economy, how they treat their employees, and the disastrous effect they have on communities & ma & pa businesses. So we made the choice to start spending our $$ in community based businesses, & stopped giving our $$ to wal-mart.

It was not easy, but we owe it to ourselves & to our neighbors:-)

[fertilizeonarbusto]

43. Bravo for you

for not shopping there AND for being a fellow skinflint.;-)

[rodeodance]

65. me too--last 4 years or so!!

[tanyev]

3. And once Wal-Mart has put everyone else out

of business, they will be the only game in town. Theocratic facism, full speed ahead!

[burythehatchet]

12. don't believe it for one second

the right wing model of society is unsustainable. They will collapse onto themselves like porcine whores.

[MaineDem]

4. This makes me totally livid!

I can't tell you how pissed I am.

I am proud to say it's been at least 5 years since I've set foot in a WalMart. I hate them!!!

Here in Maine, EC is allowed without a doc's prescription. I'm so glad the pharmacists at WalMart have their patients' best interests at heart - not!!!

[Mistress Quickly]

5. Don't patronize them

>>>However,
they must find another pharmacist, either at Wal-Mart or another
pharmacy, who can assist you by filling your prescription.<<<

CYA

[flpoljunkie]

8. This seems to apply only to regular birth control prescriptions their

pharmacists refuse to fill. WalMart does not carry emergency contraception, period.

[SCDem]

6. This was news 4 years ago

at the time my fundie aunt sent around an email saying that we should support Wal Mart because of this well I replied all and said all the reasons why we should not support Wal Mart.

Old news. Who cares about Wal Mart.

[flpoljunkie]

9. More and more states are allowing pharmacists to refuse to dispense

birth control prescriptions, that's why. Read this from Sunday's Washington Post.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A5490-2005Mar27?language=printer

Pharmacists' Rights at Front Of New Debate
Because of Beliefs, Some Refuse To Fill Birth Control Prescriptions

By Rob Stein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, March 28, 2005; Page A01

Some pharmacists across the country are refusing to fill prescriptions for birth control and morning-after pills, saying that dispensing the medications violates their personal moral or religious beliefs.

The trend has opened a new front in the nation's battle over reproductive rights, sparking an intense debate over the competing rights of pharmacists to refuse to participate in something they consider repugnant and a woman's right to get medications her doctor has prescribed. It has also triggered pitched political battles in statehouses across the nation as politicians seek to pass laws either to protect pharmacists from being penalized -- or force them to carry out their duties.

"This is a very big issue that's just beginning to surface," said Steven H. Aden of the Christian Legal Society's Center for Law and Religious Freedom in Annandale, which defends pharmacists. "More and more pharmacists are becoming aware of their right to conscientiously refuse to pass objectionable medications across the counter. We are on the very front edge of a wave that's going to break not too far down the line."

An increasing number of clashes are occurring in drugstores across the country. Pharmacists often risk dismissal or other disciplinary action to stand up for their beliefs, while shaken teenage girls and women desperately call their doctors, frequently late at night, after being turned away by sometimes-lecturing men and women in white coats.

"There are pharmacists who will only give birth control pills to a woman if she's married. There are pharmacists who mistakenly believe contraception is a form of abortion and refuse to prescribe it to anyone," said Adam Sonfield of the Alan Guttmacher Institute in New York, which tracks reproductive issues. "There are even cases of pharmacists holding prescriptions hostage, where they won't even transfer it to another pharmacy when time is of the essence."

more...

[flpoljunkie]

15. It's not old news. Link below for those who wish to take action.

http://prochoiceaction.org/campaign/pharmacy_petition/s...

Tell pharmacy chains to stop discriminating against women! In as many as 20 states, pharmacies can refuse to fill women’s prescriptions for contraception, including the morning-after pill.
 
When a woman and her doctor decide that a prescription for contraception is in the woman's best interest, a third party has no right to override that decision.  Pharmacies must ensure that patients get their doctor-prescribed medication without delay or inconvenience.

Join NARAL Pro-Choice America in telling our nation’s biggest pharmacies (Wal-Mart, CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreen's, and Eckerd's) not to stand between a woman and her physician. Simply complete the information at right to send your letter.

http://prochoiceaction.org/campaign/pharmacy_petition/s...

[Vickers]

7. "Our pharmacists may decline to fill a prescription based on ..."

"...personal convictions."

If that *isn't* illegal, it should be.

You know, once the Congress has made sure no gays are getting hitched and stuff. :eyes:

[scarletlib]

10. fuck you walmart

i refuse to shop in your stores

[PurityOfEssence]

11. Thou Shalt not Fuck

All fun is bad. You must suffer through a life of toil to be worthy of the warm embrace of the Lord.

[Deep13]

16. right

suffering: good
happiness: bad

Makes sense to me, but then I AM insane.
:wtf: :freak: :banghead:

[AlCzervik]

13. Thou shall not prevent the next generation of wal mart shoppers

from being born.

[toad12]

14. Evil-mart, I call it...

Sell tons of shit no ones needs, but wont sell something that is needed. I wont step foot in that store.

"Walmart always low wages"

[Clark2008]

40. We call it what they call it on "Fairly Odd Parents"

Wall-to-Wallmart.

And, this piece of news doesn't surprise me in the least.

:puke:

[LondonReign2]

54. Mall-Wart

n/t

[Deep13]

17. Everytime you go to Sprawlmart...

... God kills a kitten.

Think of the kittens, won't you?
:hurts:

[alpha_sion]

18. Hmmm....Must be a slow day

Hmmm.. This week must be a SLOOOW one!

I can't believe this is an actual discussion. I can't believe people are actually upset about this.

Hey, I have an idea....How about if you don't like Wal-Mart's policies you shop at the OTHER 20 STORES of your choice for your prescriptions!

I have made a handy list in case you live in a cave across the street from wal-mart and have no idea there is another world just beyond the smoldering pavement.
(You can even order online in case you don't yet have a car to park in your cave)

Wal-Greens
K-Mart
Rite Aid
CVS
Grocery store pharmacy (Publix, Krogers, winn-dixie, Albertson's, etc...)
The medicine shoppe
Eckerd Drugs

I'm sure there are many more depending on your geographic location, etc..

[MaineDem]

19. Ummmm, it's not just WalMart

# At an Eckerd's pharmacy in Texas, a pharmacist refused to dispense EC to a sexual assault victim on the grounds that it "violated his morals." The other pharmacists on duty also refused to fill the prescription. This woman was able to fill her prescription at a Walgreen's pharmacy later that evening. All three Eckerd's pharmacists were eventually fired for violating the patient's rights (Austin, 2004; Brown, 2004; Londono, 2004).

# A CVS pharmacist in Texas refused to dispense a prescription for birth control pills. The pharmacist told the patient and her husband that she did not "personally believe in birth control," birth control was not right, and " pills cause cancer." The prescription was eventually filled the next evening and delivered to the patient's home (Brown, 2004).

# A woman in New Hampshire was denied ECPs by a Brooks pharmacist. The pharmacist claimed moral objections to both dispensing and transferring the prescription. By the time the managers at this Brooks Pharmacy resolved the situation, it was too late ("Pharmacist Denies Woman's...", 2004).


# A Kmart pharmacist in Wisconsin refused to fill and transfer a birth control prescription because he "did not want to commit a sin." The prescription was eventually filled by the pharmacy director two days later. This pharmacist is now on trial for violating the state's Regulation and Licensing Department's standards of care (Weier, 2004).

And thanks for your concern...not.

[raccoon]

21. That Brooks pharmacist

should have to pay child support! "# A woman in New Hampshire was denied ECPs by a Brooks pharmacist...."

Why don't these stores simply fire these self-righteous a-holes?

I bet if a pharmacist refused to fill a prescription for Viagra, he/she would be fired so fast it'd make your head spin.

[seventythree]

27. good one

[Vickers]

20. You don't get it...WalMart is symptomatic of many of the problems

in this country.

Oh, and welcome to DU yadda yadda yadda.

[MadHound]

24. Uh, hate to tell you this, but in many rural areas across the country

Wal Mart is now the only game in town. After wiping out all the other businesses in town, WalMart is the only alternative available for many people. If they have to go somewhere else, it requires of trip, sometimes up to one hundred miles.

This is an issue of consumer freedoms, and with WalMart wiping out our choices, that freedom is being curtailed. You may blithely dismiss it now, but wait until it wipes out the alternatives in YOUR town, then you'll be screaming.

The WalMartization of America is proceding apace friend, and it is not a good thing.

[TexasLawyer]

50. Excellent point

After running every other potential rival out of business, WalMart has a greater obligation to serve the public's needs.

[yellowcanine]

22. Another reason not to darken their doors. (not that I need another one).

[jmcon007]

23. one pregnancy prevented = one less WalMart shopper

[demokatgurrl]

25. I wish I shopped there, so I could stop. n/t

[alpha_sion]

26. In response to MaineDem

My concern for the issue was not the point of my reply.

Those were all very tragic "isolated" incidents that you shared. However, Should we now not shop at any of those stores because a person made a judgment call for his own personal reasons? The incidents that you quoted are not store policy, rather they are incidents of a much more personal nature. (wrong indeed)

My point being that Wal-Mart seems to have made this a policy of the store, thereby exclaiming there views and opinions for us to judge them as a corporation. The evidence that you provide should not and does not reflect the store policies in place for the other pharmacies I have suggested.

Point being: If you don't like a store's policies you have the freedom of choice to shop elsewhere. Bitching on DU only makes us seem petty and hard up for something to bitch about.

IMHO

[seventythree]

28. petty? I think it is informative

I, of course, knew about isolated incidents all over the country of pharmacists refusing to fill bc pills. I don't think I was aware of any store wide policy regarding not filling emergency contraception, and if I did, I forgot, so I appreciate the OP. Some states,as have been discussed on this thread, have laws about interfering with care -- so has WalMart in these states been sued over the chain wide policy?

[MaineDem]

29. WalMart is the largest retailer in the world

Many people in rural areas have NO OTHER place to shop, unfortunately. I don't shop at WalMart but many people do.

Why should a woman who's been raped need to travel any distance to get legal medication.

Perhaps you don't see the point to all this. Stick around and learn.

[taught_me_patience]

30. They have a right

to sell whatever they want in their stores.

taught.

[Blue Moon]

31. Correct

Regardless of the issue, forcing someone to sell something they choose not to sell is Totalitarianism at its finest.

[MaineDem]

32. When WalMart is the only business in town...

where is a rape victim to go for EC?

Seriously...where???

[Blue Moon]

35. I don't know

the hospital, maybe? Not to be callous, but this is not WalMart's responsibility or problem.

[Bridget Burke]

42. The hospital's ER will be crowded with WalMart employees.

Most of them DON'T get health insurance....

[colinmom71]

45. Actually, most hospitals don't distribute the actual pills...

They usually give the woman a prescription to be filled at the pharmacy of her choice, assuming she has choices. Most Catholic hospitals won't even give the prescription. She then has to make sure she takes the pills within 72 hours of the rape for the meds to be effective.

If WalMart happens to be the only pharmacy within a reasonable distance, the refusal to fill scripts for EC is denying an already traumatized woman the medical care lawfully prescribed by her physician. It becomes a de facto interference and override of a doctor's orders, which in many states can fit the legal definition of practicing medicine without a license.

Why a patient needs a prescription is not the business of the pharmacist. That is a private matter between the patient and the doctor. The pharmacist's role is to fill the script and to advise the patient on contraindications and side effects of the medicine in question - nothing more. Otherwise, we would be opening the door to other meds being refused on "moral" qualms, like meds that alleviate sexually transmitted diseases, etc.

[flpoljunkie]

46. Thank you for your thoughtful, well-informed post.

[Skittles]

63. they sell guns but not birth control

they stink

[Zynx]

33. Indeed. No one can force them.

No one should be able to force them either. To do so would establish a command economy that would lead us down a destructive path.

[flpoljunkie]

37. And we have a right to not to buy our prescriptions from WalMart.

The situation is tragic indeed, if there is no alternative to WalMart and a woman needs emergency contraception.

[Deep13]

39. Just what right does ...

... a state incorporated business have to push its cultural agenda on its customers.

[Blue Moon]

58. ALL businesses ..........

Are either incorporated, sole-proprietorships, partnerships or LLC's, licensed by a state. That absolutely does not mean that the state can force them to sell something (unless you're talking about a communist state, where they do tell you what you have to sell)

A vegetarian restaurant is "pushing" its cultural agenda on its customers. Should they be forced to sell me a hamburger if I demand it?

[Deep13]

59. Inappositive analogy

Walmart is not a local vegitarian diner. It is a multinational corporation that enjoys many governmental protections including immunity from liability for its shareholders, officers and directors. Further, pharmacies are highly regulated and somewhat monopolistic busnesses. I say monopolistic because only certified pharmacists can dispense RX drugs and only with a DEA license and on a doctors RX. Further, a pharmacist is a professional like a lawyer, doctor or accountant. They have obligations that are independant of purely business considerations. If Walmart is the only pharmacy in East-Buttfux County, Montana, (probably because they drove the local Rexall out of business)then it is not too much to ask for them to carry anything anyone is likely to need in an emergency, especially when the only reason for not doing so is some wacko-fundy agenda.

You reference to communism relies on the logical fallacy of false dilemma. You suggest that requiring a pharmacy to carry certain emegency medications will somehow make this a Stalinist country. It is either let corporations do whatever the hell they want on the one hand or communism on the other. Frankly, screw ideology and let us do what is best for the community.

[Blue Moon]

60. Here's the bottom line...

They can pick and choose what they wish to sell.

Of course WalMart has obligations. They are obligated to do business according to the law. Believe me, I'm familiar with the UCC. And I know of no law that forces someone to sell something that they choose not to sell. Period.

If you don't like the law, change it. It is not WalMart's responsibility to act in what you feel are anyone's particular best interests. That's just the hard reality of life. If you want to put pressure on them to change their ways, fine, you are welcome to do it any number of lawful ways.

But the fact remains, you can't force someone to sell something. It's a ridiculous assumption.

[U4ikLefty]

66. So you can't "force" the ONLY doctor in town to save a black man's life?

It's the same thing. After all he is offering a "product" for sale to "consumers" and (according to you) he should not be "forced to sell something".

We're talking about medical services here....a pharmacy. There are larger ethical issues involved that just "businesses" making profit by selling widgets.

[Deep13]

67. someone?

We are not talking about a someone. We are talking about a publicly traded corporation. Suppose a hospital pharmacy did not carry a foreseeably necessary emergency drug for its E-room? Isn't that negligence? Granted, the need at non-hospital pharmacy is not so dire, but people who need those services need them nonetheless.

Why not change the law to encourage or even require some public responsibility? Oh, that's right, it's because our legislatures have been bought and paid for by corporate interests. :sarcasm: Anyway, the absolute minimum legal requirements really should not be the benchmark of good citizenship.

As a side note, the UCC has nothing to do with this hypothetical. Art.II governs the sale of goods generally and speaks to the manner of the sales and not to highly regulated professions. Nothing else in the UCC is even remotely applicable.

Why are you sticking up for Sprawlmart? With their ad budget they certainly do not need you defending them. Besides, in many ways, they are the enemy. Walmart is frankly a terrible corporate citizen. They are anti-union, they suppress wages, export jobs to China, offer no health insurance which creates a burden on the community, they drive privately owned local businesses out of business, they support Rs and the religious right and they sell crap. With the playing field tilted so much in their favor, I am not inclined to be fair with them.:thumbsdown:

[Bridget Burke]

41. Even if they got tax breaks from the community?

Even if they pay their employees so little they must resort to welfare?

Even if they've forced other stores out of business?

[mainer]

34. do they carry viagra?

just wondering.

[flpoljunkie]

38. They did in 2002, while not carrying Preven, the "morning-after pill"

http://premium1.fosters.com/2002/news/sept_02/sept30_02/news/bu0930f.asp

The National Organization for Women also criticizes Wal-Mart for not selling Preven, commonly known as "morning-after pill" for women, while carrying Viagra.

And, of course, they still do not carry emergency contraception.

[Jack Rabbit]

Jack Rabbit refueses to carry his business to WalMat

even in an emergency.

[Radical Activist]

44. Any Democrat should be ashamed to shop at Walmart.

This is just one more item on a long list of reasons.

[sinkingfeeling]

47. Although, WM's decision to not carry emergency contraceptives

was made awhile ago, they do respond to complaints. Several years ago, some one told a store manager that they were 'offended' my a T-shirt for sale with a picture of 'Margaret', Dennis the Menace's friend, which said..."When I grow up, I want to be President!" So, the store manager contacted the home office (Wally World doesn't have a headquarters in Bentonville, AR, just the home office) and they pulled the T-shirt off the racks. Well, I joined a campaign to write to the CEO (at the time, David Glass) to counter the idiot who was 'offended' that a girl might want to be president of the USA. Long story, short, WM reversed itself. And they have done it on other things as well.

Every woman in the country ought to fire off a letter to the Home Office!

[flpoljunkie]

48. Thanks for post. Here is a link for those who wish to take action.

http://prochoiceaction.org/campaign/pharmacy_petition/s ...

Tell pharmacy chains to stop discriminating against women! In as many as 20 states, pharmacies can refuse to fill women’s prescriptions for contraception, including the morning-after pill.
 
When a woman and her doctor decide that a prescription for contraception is in the woman's best interest, a third party has no right to override that decision.  Pharmacies must ensure that patients get their doctor-prescribed medication without delay or inconvenience.

Join NARAL Pro-Choice America in telling our nation’s biggest pharmacies (Wal-Mart, CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreen's, and Eckerd's) not to stand between a woman and her physician. Simply complete the information at right to send your letter.

http://prochoiceaction.org/campaign/pharmacy_petition/s...

Here is a copy of the email that will be sent to the above pharmacies:

All over the country I have noticed a disturbing trend of pharmacies refusing to fill women's prescriptions for birth control. When a woman and her doctor decide that a prescription for contraception is in the woman's best interest, a third party has no right to override that decision. Pharmacies must ensure that patients get their doctor-prescribed medication without delay or inconvenience. I ask that your company assure me and your other customers that no woman seeking prescription contraception will be turned away by your company's pharmacies.

No doubt a majority of your customers take for granted that women should be able to receive their birth control despite the personal beliefs of the individual pharmacist. Timely access to contraception is central to women's health, autonomy, and equality. We must trust women and their doctors to make their own reproductive health decisions.

I thank you, in advance, for protecting your customer's health by ensuring your pharmacy will guarantee women have unhindered access to their prescribed medications.

Thank you for your attention and support.

[sinkingfeeling]

51. Done... I probably have that action request at home, since I get

stuff all the time from NARAL. Thanks.

[flpoljunkie]

52. Thank you! Hope others will take a few seconds to send a message.

[WI_DEM]

49. perhaps these people shouldn't become pharmacists if

it is against their religion to fill a doctors prescription.

[Name removed]

53. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[bvar22]

55. Wal-Mart must DIE!

MONEY SPENT AT WAL-MART KILLS
GOD'S UNBORN CHILDREN!!!

Get some of those bloody posters that the Anti-Choice crowd uses to picket Planned Parenthood, and use them to picket Wally World.
I’m absolutely PRO-CHOICE, but think the Fundies need to face this hypocrisy.

Wal-Mart supports
COMMUNIST DICTATORS!!!

Will the Republicans stand on Moral Values when their wallet is threatened?
Only immoral people (Communist abortion lovers) shop at Wal-Mart!

[DearAbby]

56. At least they are up front to say so...they don't steal your 'script and

refuse to return it, you are warned ahead of time not to go there to have your prescripts filled...another good reason not to shop Wal-Mart.

[alpha_sion]

57. Here is an interesting link...

I thought this was pretty interesting and right on with the subject. I'm not sure how reliable the site is but I highly doubt it is biased one way or the other.

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/outrage/walmart.htm

I think Snopes.com is a site purely to prove or disprove urban myths.

Like Mythbusters! (coolest show ever)

[EvolveOrConvolve]

61. Snopes is usually pretty good, but they missed the mark on this one

The fact is Walmart refuses to sell the emergency morning after pill, calling it a "business decision". Bullshit. It was a "moral decision" made by some republican idiot at corporate headquarters who knows from which side of the fascist sandwich his bread is buttered. Snopes labeled Walmart's policy of not selling the morning after pill as FALSE. Bullshit.

They only call it a "business decision" so they won't get their asses sued when a young, poor women is raped and forced to have her baby or an abortion because of their sick policies.

As a cost-conscious business owner, I will never again shop at Walmart. Their wages are atrocious, they treat their employees like shit, they kill local economies with predatory business practices, and they take billions of dollars in income out of local economies and redistribute it to their wealthy shareholders. I figure it costs me less in the long run to pay a little more at a customer-service oriented local company than it does to throw my money away at Walmart.

[applegrove]

62. Walmart wants to increase abortions.

[ngGale]

64. Since Wal-Mart doesn't carry the product, then why...

do they send you to another Wal-Mart. Found this odd because I got the same automated letter!


Our pharmacists may
decline to fill a prescription based on personal convictions. However,
they must find another pharmacist, either at Wal-Mart
or another pharmacy, who can assist you by filling your prescription.

[flpoljunkie]

69. It's called hypocrisy. Does this apply to Previn or just birth control?

[napi21]

68. I don't shop at WM, so I don't care! n/t