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Good For Massachusetts!

zuzu

Via Bitch, Ph.D., the Mass. State Board of Pharmacy has voted that Wal-Mart must stock emergency contraception in its stores in Massachusetts.

A Wal-Mart spokesman said the company would comply with the directive by the Massachusetts Board of Pharmacy and is reviewing its nationwide policy on the drug.

“Clearly women’s health is a high priority for Wal-Mart,” spokesman Dan Fogleman said. “We are actively thinking through the issue.”

Wal-Mart now carries the pill only in Illinois, where it is required to do so under state law. The company has said it “chooses not to carry many products for business reasons,” but has refused to elaborate.

Don’t you love it? They only carry the drug where it’s required by law, but clearly, women’s health is a high priority for them. As long as they don’t have sex.

I’d love to know what other medications they choose not to carry for “business reasons.” Of course, getting sued and losing isn’t good for business. They may very well have something to worry about on that score:

Sam Perkins, a lawyer for the three women, praised the board’s decision and said he was prepared to sue in other states should Wal-Mart not overturn its policy. Abortion rights groups and women’s organizations have also urged Wal-Mart to change its policy.

Incidentally, for those of you who were nitpicking about the definition of “commonly prescribed medication” in an earlier thread, note that the board’s decision was unanimous, and that the three women who brought the suit had argued that emergency contraception was commonly prescribed. So it’s safe to say the board agreed with them.

19 thoughts on Good For Massachusetts!

  1. Well see, after all these years I knew there was a reason why I wanted to move eastward.

    Although the state I left, Illinois is on target too, but I can say with confidence that Chicago was no doubt the progressive push there. Southern Illinois ain’t exactly Chicago by any stretch of the imagination.

    And New Hampshire prides itself on being the opposite of everything about Mass., unfortunately.

  2. I’m happy to hear this news because it will clearly benefit lots of women, but it changes my feelings about wal-mart not one whit.

    incidentally, it irritates me that organizations advocating for emergency contraception are always identified as “abortion rights” groups. when of course widespread availability of EC would make abortion less necessary. the whole fabricated controversy over EC is that some unscientific nutjobs have arbitrarily decided to call it an abortifacient, which leads to otherwise right-thinking folk confounding it with mifeprex or RU-486 and lending unwarranted sympathy to the irresponsible pharmacists who refuse to fill women’s prescriptions. Whenever the media portrays pharmacist refusals as an issue related to abortion, they give credence to the groundless, medically ludicrous claim that EC works as an abortifacient.

  3. Good for the Massachusetts Board of Pharmacy. This gives Wal-Mart legitimate cover.They’re in business to serve customers, not take political positions and I’m sure they’re relieved that they are free from boycott threats.

    Now, if the Massachusetts Board of Pharmacy would only deregister pharmacists who don’t execute their professional duty then they would remove another weak link to which pressure can be applied.

  4. TangoMan, your first paragraph was my thought immediately. It’s bad business to take political positions on these kinds of matters, but if WalMart wants to make the government its political patsy I’m happy, as long as everyone gets their legal prescriptions.

  6. The article notes that CVS sells EC in all their pharmacies, so they’re a good bet.

    Aside from the fact that there are no Wal-Marts around here (oh, they keep trying, but the unions show up with their giant inflatable rat and that’s that; not to mention they insist on freestanding stores with giant parking lots rather than doing what Target did and locating near several subway lines and offering delivery), the stores are just offensively ugly. I don’t like that they block off all the sight lines and stack merchandise to the high ceilings.

  7. WalMart is the lifeblood of town like mine, but I do what I can to avoid it. Nonetheless, many people either don’t know or don’t care. You have to have companies like WalMart, who provide all sorts of products to people like my neigbors, providing all the services available to the public that are legally allowed, including EC. Considering that Wal Mart’s business model was to build in small towns-red states first, I imagine that WalMarts are the closest thing to big business (and thus, “big” services) that many rural folks have.

  8. … the Mass. State Board of Pharmacy has voted that Wal-Mart must stock emergency contraception.

    I haven’t read the wording of the MA legislation. If it says Wal-Mart must stock EC, does that specify or at least imply that they must dispense it? I imagine the semantics are critical here.

  9. I haven’t read the wording of the MA legislation. If it says Wal-Mart must stock EC, does that specify or at least imply that they must dispense it? I imagine the semantics are critical here.

    I believe that the answer is yes. The semantics are indeed critical: Mall-Wart has technically “carried” EC for a while, but not stocked it (facetiously, of course). That’s why they couldn’t dispense it, because they didn’t actually have any on hand.

    To some extent, I don’t know that I’d advocate requiring a small pharmacy to dispense EC. But if a pharmacy is the only one in a long way, then it definitely should. The particular problem with Wal-Mart (besides their decision to lie and advertise falsely–“sure, we carry it! we just don’t have any now, sorry”) is that they have driven other pharmacies out of business*, and therefore if you don’t get it at WM, you don’t get it nowhere.

    *I don’t have any actual evidence on hand to prove this. It’s not that I don’t carry any, mind. It’s just that I don’t have any right now.

  10. Abortifacients aren’t “medicines”, they are poisons, and they destroy a human life that has already been created.

    When Justice Stevens retires none of these unjust laws will be upheld.

  11. This is why I haven’t moved out of my beloved home state despite ridiculous real estate prices – Massachusetts is the BLUEST of blue states 🙂

    Janet J,

    Do you understand the MEDICAL definition of pregnancy? Do you understand WHY it is defined that way? Obviously not, or you wouldn’t be referring to EC drugs as abortifacients. But something tells me you’re not interested in the facts…

  12. Feministe sez:

    I’d love to know what other medications they choose not to carry for “business reasons.”

    Out of curiosity, do you know if you can buy DMSO over the counter at Wallmart?

    BRD

  13. Kristen,
    the active ingedient in EC is female hormones(Progesterone and Estrogen).The former stops implantation of the fertilized egg in the uterine wall’Some other meds that can be used,and indeed are include methtrxate,a folic acic antagonist used ,in my practice,for psoriasis,and by the cancer docs as part of their cocktails.so,it is a poison.High dose Tagamet can also(theoretically)be used.
    Lauren;Wal-Mart is the biggest employer in the country.It’s the closest exposure you have to big business,also.
    Magis,I understand Boolean logic and the (Special_but not general) Theory of Relativity,but I’ve always beeen unsure about the definition of “smarmy.”Perhaps you could help?

  14. the active ingedient in EC is female hormones(Progesterone and Estrogen).The former stops implantation of the fertilized egg in the uterine wall’Some other meds that can be used,and indeed are include methtrxate,a folic acic antagonist used ,in my practice,for psoriasis,and by the cancer docs as part of their cocktails.so,it is a poison.High dose Tagamet can also(theoretically)be used.

    That’s swell, but that still doesn’t make it an abortifacient. Because in order to be an abortifacient, something needs to terminate a pregnancy, which only happens after implantation of the fertilized egg. Plan B prevents implantation, so therefore, it is a contraceptive.

  15. thanks, zuzu.

    and hey, all chemotherapy drugs are ‘poisons,’ but they do benefit (some, hopefully all) cancer patients. or should those be banned too?

  17. Pingback: Standard Mischief » Blog Archive » Wal-Mart Ordered To Stock Contraceptives In Massachusetts.

  18. Zuzu Says: Incidentally, for those of you who were nitpicking about the definition of “commonly prescribed medication” in an earlier thread, note that the board’s decision was unanimous, and that the three women who brought the suit had argued that emergency contraception was commonly prescribed. So it’s safe to say the board agreed with them.

    I like that, “nitpicking”. Gee, I thought that was the core of the debate. Usually I prefer facts and data, but seven appointed people voting the way that might keep the person that appointed them happy is enough proof for me!

    Hey, I linked to you all!

    http://standardmischief.com/2006/02/16/wal-mart-ordered-to-stock-contraceptives-in-massachusetts/

  19. Bravo Romeo Delta Says: Out of curiosity, do you know if you can buy DMSO over the counter at Wallmart?

    I don’t know if you can get it at Mall-Wart, but DMSO is commonly found at any herbal shop, or feed/farm supply store. It’s sold as a solvent only (wink, wink). The common thought is that something called MSM (Methyl-Something-Maybe) taken orally is as good with less side effects (DMSO rubbed on joints to relive joint pain is suppose to leave a “fishy” aftertaste in your mouth. Yuck.

    BTW, I wouldn’t touch that DMSO stuff personally.

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