DOES WAL-MART EVER HAVE A PLAN B…?
February 16th, 2007
Normally I wait for Wal-Mart Wednesdays to post the news from Wally World, but this one couldn’t wait. A month ago I posted about Tashina Byrd and the Wal-Mart pharmacist who laughed in her face when she tried to legally purchase Plan B. Things worked out for Byrd, she got what she needed at another pharmacy, but the story didn’t end there.
Byrd is now a rallying point for the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League and the focus of a letter writing campaign targeted at Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott.
In an email solicitation Bryd writes:
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?
[...] Hat tip to Have Coffee Will Write [...]