Take action: Don't let Wal-Mart have the last laugh on Plan B
[we received this via email and are posting it here for interested and concerned parties to read and, if they believe it necessary, to act on it...]
You won't believe what happened to me when I went with my boyfriend to Wal-Mart to buy Plan B® - the "morning-after" pill - after our condom broke.
The pharmacist laughed in our faces and told us, "We have it on hand, but there's no one here who can dispense it."
My name is Tashina Byrd, and this happened to me at my local Wal-Mart in Springfield, Ohio.
It can be embarrassing to share a private, personal experience like this, but I don't want other women to be subjected to the humiliation and anger I felt when the pharmacist laughed at me.
That's why I'm asking for your help today. I recently sent a letter to Wal-Mart CEO H. Lee Scott, Jr., urging him to change company policy to guarantee that pharmacies fill requests for Plan B® without delay, just like they do for any other over-the-counter medicine. Click here to send your letter to Wal-Mart today.
You've already proven that together we can make Wal-Mart do what's right for women. Last year, because of pressure from pro-choice activists like you, Wal-Mart reversed its discriminatory policy against stocking Plan B®. Now, it's time to ensure that they not only stock it but also sell it without delay or inconvenience.
In the end, I was lucky. I found another pharmacy that stocked Plan B® and was willing to sell it to me. But what would happen to a woman who lives in a rural area - where Wal-Mart is often the only pharmacy - where the nearest drugstore could be 60 miles away or more? What if the second pharmacy refused, too?
Access to emergency contraception shouldn't require multiple pharmacy visits. To ensure other women don't have an experience similar to mine, join me in urging Wal-Mart to change its policy today!
Sincerely,
Tashina Byrd
You won't believe what happened to me when I went with my boyfriend to Wal-Mart to buy Plan B® - the "morning-after" pill - after our condom broke.
The pharmacist laughed in our faces and told us, "We have it on hand, but there's no one here who can dispense it."
My name is Tashina Byrd, and this happened to me at my local Wal-Mart in Springfield, Ohio.
It can be embarrassing to share a private, personal experience like this, but I don't want other women to be subjected to the humiliation and anger I felt when the pharmacist laughed at me.
That's why I'm asking for your help today. I recently sent a letter to Wal-Mart CEO H. Lee Scott, Jr., urging him to change company policy to guarantee that pharmacies fill requests for Plan B® without delay, just like they do for any other over-the-counter medicine. Click here to send your letter to Wal-Mart today.
You've already proven that together we can make Wal-Mart do what's right for women. Last year, because of pressure from pro-choice activists like you, Wal-Mart reversed its discriminatory policy against stocking Plan B®. Now, it's time to ensure that they not only stock it but also sell it without delay or inconvenience.
In the end, I was lucky. I found another pharmacy that stocked Plan B® and was willing to sell it to me. But what would happen to a woman who lives in a rural area - where Wal-Mart is often the only pharmacy - where the nearest drugstore could be 60 miles away or more? What if the second pharmacy refused, too?
Access to emergency contraception shouldn't require multiple pharmacy visits. To ensure other women don't have an experience similar to mine, join me in urging Wal-Mart to change its policy today!
Sincerely,
Tashina Byrd
posted by Cheryl Hentz at 1:25 PM
2 Comments:
(Some) Walgreens in the Fox Cities have pulled this number (refusing to dispense Plan B) as well. Anyone wishing to become more active is invited to take part in Women's Health Day of Action in Madison on March 8th. Protecting reproductive rights, march to the capitol, group visits with elected officials, training for activists, students, health workers and more. Contact Planned Parenthood.
Lori, welcome to the blog and thanks for the additional information. I have heard about and read similar horror stories from women trying to fill birth control prescriptions at certain pharmacies.
In this day and age it is hard to imagine and almost seems shameful that pharmacists are allowed to put their personal beliefs ahead of their professional duty to fill prescriptions and dispense medication.
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