States and the Battle Over Emergency Contraception
Posted on April 4, 2007 by webteam
Planned Parenthood announced today that it has been notified by Wal-Mart that the retail leader has revised its nationwide corporate policy regarding emergency contraception. The new policy ensures that customers will receive their prescriptions of over-the-counter products without discrimination, harassment or lecture. Emergency contraception such as the Plan B pill will now be stocked and dispensed without discrimination or delay.
This is a turnaround from previous Wal-Mart policy” – last year, Wal-mart agreed to begin stocking Plan B with the caveat that the company’s conscientious objection policy, which allowed pharmacists uncomfortable with dispensing certain prescriptions to refer customers to another pharmacist or pharmacy, would remain in effect. Plan B was approved for over-the-counter sale in mid-2006, meaning a prescription is no longer required for women 18 or older.
Wal-Mart’s new policy regarding emergency contraception might not have the same effect in every state. Four states – Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi and South Dakota – enacted “conscience clauses” that specifically protect pharmacists who choose not to dispense emergency contraception. A change in company policy is nice, but company policies still don’t trump state laws. Additional states, including Colorado, Florida and Maine, have more general conscience clauses that may or may not protect pharmacists. In 2005 alone, state legislatures considered more than 20 bills that aimed at sorting out the question of whether a pharmacist must fill a prescription that they disagree with on moral grounds.
Wal-Mart’s new policy is a step in the right direction, but state legislatures must play a major role in addressing the struggle between balancing the rights of patients to get access to emergency contraception and the rights of health care providers to follow their moral convictions.
For a summary of state laws related to emergency contraception, click here.
