Women Are Watching Wal-Mart
Posted on December 13, 2005 by webteam
Several women’s organizations at the forefront of the Wal-Mart fight, will take to the streets in Maryland this Saturday. According to Women’s ENews, The Maryland chapter of the National Organization for Women will lead an anti-Wal-Mart rally to raise awareness of Wal-Mart’s alleged sex discrimination and inaccessible health insurance coverage for its workers.
“’It’s a huge rallying cry right now,’ [NOW chapter president Duchy] Trachtenberg said of the campaign against Wal-Mart, where women, according to the company’s Web site, compose about 60 percent of the chain’s sales associates but 40 percent of its management.
Target—another large-scale, low-price retail chain—has also come under fire this season from reproductive health advocates over a disputed incident involving a Missouri pharmacist’s alleged refusal to fill a prescription for emergency contraception. Two other retail giants—Best Buy and Costco—are involved in pending sex discrimination lawsuits.
But Wal-Mart bears the brunt of the criticism by women’s rights activists, who say that on top of allegations of sex discrimination in pay and promotion, the company bars sales of emergency contraception and declines to cover contraceptives in health insurance plans.
Wal-Mart spokesperson Dan Fogleman confirmed that the company does not cover contraceptives and said the company stocks emergency contraception in states where it is required to by law, but does not in other states because there is not sufficient demand.”
When did this change?
“We do not carry emergency contraceptives,” said Wal-Mart spokeswoman Jacquie Young. “It’s based on business factors. We have to refer our customers to another pharmacy in the community that can help them in a timely manner.” [Dallas Morning News, 4/29/05]
According to the Guttmacher Institute, only one state in the U.S., currently requires pharmacies that stock EC to dispense it.
Wal-Mart’s Large Market Share Can Cut Off Access to Emergency Contraception. In many communities, going elsewhere to get the prescription filled is not an option. In ten towns in Texas, for example, Wal-Mart is the only existing pharmacy. [Supermarket News, 5/9/05] Plan B must be taken within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse to effectively prevent pregnancy [Planned Parenthood]
Of course, Wal-Mart stocks emergency contraception in Canada.
In spring 2005, Canada made emergency contraception available as a “Schedule II” medication throughout the country. This means that although a woman must ask a pharmacist for the drug, no prescription is necessary. While individual pharmacists in Canada can refuse to provide the drug, they are required to refer the woman to another pharmacist who will provide it. [Canadian Women’s Health Network, Canadian Pharmacists’ Association]
Prior to this, in 1999 Preven brand emergency contraception was made available in Canada. The medication came in a kit with a pregnancy test, and like Plan B needed to be taken within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse to be effective. Wal-Mart Canada stated that while they would not carry it, they would order it on request and refer anyone who needed it sooner than 24 hours to another retailer. Again citing it as a business decision, Wal-Mart refused to carry it at all in the United States. [Toronto Star, 11/11/99, Canadian Press, 11/10/99]
