Local NOW Chapters Picket Wal-Mart
Over Ban of Prescription Contraceptive
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world.
Indeed it's the only thing that ever has." ---Margaret Mead
The Winter Park and Orlando Chapters of the National Organization for Women (NOW) will continue to picket Wal-Mart to protest the refusal by Wal-Mart pharmacies to stock or dispense certain prescription medication...
in this specific case it's a prescription contraceptive package called PREVEN.
We believe that ALL health care decisions between a woman and her doctor should be confidential, and that treatments should be carried out by allied health professionals, including pharmacists, unless an error threatens her life or health.
THIS IS A MAJOR THREAT !
Allowing pharmacists to refuse to fill one class of medications sets a dangerous precedent. Already, the "Pharmacists For Life International" are pushing for protections for pharmacists who refuse to dispense drugs they find morally objectionable – like ordinary birth control pills.
See their conscience clause by clicking on this link ! What if they decide that AIDS medication or condoms are objectionable (some churches forbid barrier methods, and some churches perceive AIDS as God's rath against homosexuals).
The religious reich movement is especially chilling given the consolidation of the drug store industry. Women in rural areas (in which Wal-Mart is frequently the only pharmacy), or with a health plan that limits participating pharmacies; may be forced to travel many miles to fill a simple prescription for birth control. And women without transportation could find themselves essentially denied chemical methods of fertility control.
Pharmacists and chain stores must not be allowed to wield arbitrary power over health decisions, nor to interfere with the doctor-patient relationship, nor to impose their own moral standards on their customers’ lives.
NationAlert Research Article on Prescription Contraceptives
* Local NOW Members want the public to be angry about the decision by Wal-Mart management to deny women access to FDA approved medications. Suggested Signs:
- Raped? Wal-Mart Won't Help!
- Don't Get Between Me & My MD!
- K-Mart Fills ALL Rx's
- What next? My Birth Control Rx
- Wal-Mart - Be Responsible! Fill Women's Prescriptions!
- Women - Don't Shop At Wal-Mart!
- Wal-Mart - Accessory To Rape
- Anywhere But Wal-Mart!
- Separation of Church & Wal-Mart!
- Pregnancy Prevention Rx Refused