For a crowd that makes so much noise about choice, the
pro-abortion lobby is remarkably hell-bent on restricting choice
for enterprising Americans. Abortion-on-demand largely
accomplished, abortion activists have set their sights on the next
major concern for women’s health: unlimited, universal access to
emergency contraception.
These activists secured a victory Tuesday when the Massachusetts
Board of Registration in Pharmacy unanimously decided that Wal-Mart pharmacies in
the state must carry and dispense the morning-after pill Plan B.
(There is no generic or substitute drug on the market.) The
decision responded to a complaint with the pharmacy board and lawsuit
filed by three Boston-area women who were unable to have filled
their prescriptions for emergency contraceptives (EC) at
Wal-Mart.
On the merits, the women’s complaint and lawsuit were flimsy at
best. The women claimed that Wal-Mart was in violation of a
pharmacy regulation that pharmacies “shall maintain on the
premises at all times…commonly prescribed medications in
accordance with the usual needs of the community.” As Wal-Mart’s
attorney pointed out in a letter to the women’s attorney, the board has
never before required pharmacies to stock a specific drug, nor has
it ever recommended a list that would satisfy this regulation. And
just last year, when the Massachusetts legislature took up the
question of hospitals and pharmacies dispensing EC, they chose not
to require pharmacies to carry it. Like the Maryland law singling
out Wal-Mart for employee health coverage, the Massachusetts
pharmacy board used a rather arcane regulation to satisfy the
radical feminists.
The Wal-Mart attorney’s observation that these women did not
appear to suffer “any actual damages” is an understatement. Their
lawsuit was a political stunt, a farcical treatment of the
requirement that a plaintiff have suffered an actual harm. These
women put themselves in harm’s way: in Rebekah Gee’s case, she
sought EC at a Wal-Mart located within two miles of five other pharmacies that carry
the drug. Every location of the ubiquitous CVS carries it as well.
Two of the plaintiffs’ backgrounds further illuminate their
suit. Dr. Rebekah Gee is a long-time emergency contraception
advocate. The Boston Globe reported that she is an OB/GYN “who last year
helped write legislation to increase access to emergency
contraception.” She’s been at it longer than that, petitioning the Food and Drug Administration in
2004 to allow over-the-counter sales of EC. Dr. Gee also helped the
Massachusetts chapter of NARAL Pro-Choice America (nee National
Abortion Rights Action League, and before that, the National
Association for the Repeal of Abortion Laws) celebrate the 30th anniversary of Roe v.
Wade. Another plaintiff, Julia Battel, wrote an EC-touting
article in the April 2005 issue of Massachusetts Nurse. One can only
guess where Gee and Battel rounded up their third plaintiff,
Katrina McCarty — perhaps at a pro-abortion rally? — but the
Boston Metro reported that she too is already involved in
“women’s reproductive issues.” So it’s small wonder that Dr. Gee
sounds like an activist, “My patients should not have to shop
around.” She is one, acting in concert with the pro-abortion
lobby.
With the Massachusetts decision, the activists are emboldened.
An anti-Wal-Mart group, Wal-Mart Watch, and NARAL sent an email
yesterday celebrating the victory and demanding that the chain
stock EC nationwide. The National Organization for Women sent out a
similar, shrill email Wednesday: “No woman at risk for unintended
pregnancy, be it the result of sexual assault or a broken condom,
should be turned away by Wal-Mart and forced to find another
pharmacy while the clock is ticking.”
Ah, so now women have a right to emergency contraception at any
pharmacy of their choice. This precedent should disturb proponents
of free markets and small government. It is difficult to imagine
any other case in which the government compels a private business
to carry a specific product. In this case, Wal-Mart is being
strong-armed by politicos offended that the behemoth chooses not to
deal in the morning-after pill. When the abortion lobby
successfully claims emergency contraception as a fundamental right
and forces private businesses to accommodate them,
government-provided EC cannot be far off.
Since the Massachusetts pharmacy board appears to have
overstepped its legislative mandate, Wal-Mart should stand up to
the contraception thugs in the courts. The pharmacy board
regulations may not carry the full force of law, especially since
the regulations are now being used as political ammo. Asked by
TAS if Wal-Mart is planning a legal challenge to the
Massachusetts regulation or if the chain plans to stock EC in all
its stores, spokesman Dan Fogleman said, “I can’t speculate as to
what the future might hold. Women’s health is a high priority for
Wal-Mart. Clearly there are broader considerations in play here.
We’re giving this issue a lot of thought.” Fogleman would not
comment beyond that statement.
The simplest solution to Wal-Mart’s woes is also the most
attractive. If the feminists in Massachusetts and the labor unions
in Maryland want to fight the market, the market should fight back.
Wal-Mart should raise the price of Plan B to astronomical heights
and use the profits to fund health care in Maryland. If Wal-Mart or
a state fails to oppose the thugs, these so-called pro-choice
advocates will have their way with business and the law across the
country.
