Contraception in the Crosshairs -- In These Times: "Contraception in the Crosshairs
By Phoebe Connelly
In March, Wal-Mart announced that it would carry Emergency Contraception (EC)—commercially sold as Plan B—for the first time in the seven years that the drug has been on the market. Reproductive rights activists around the nation lauded the decision both as a step forward for women’s access to reproductive technology and a victory for activists fighting Wal-Mart’s retrograde social policies. However, the victory is only partial, because while Wal-Mart now stocks EC, it, along with many other companies, does not require its pharmacists to dispense it.
Across the nation, pharmacists have come out as “conscientious objectors,” refusing to dispense EC, and in some cases, any contraception, to women who come in with a prescription. “If you really understand what the science of emergency contraception is,” says Destiny Lopez, head of the Institute for Reproductive Health Access’ “Back up Your Birth Control” campaign, which works to promote awareness of and access to EC, “you’re essentially opposing birth control.”"
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