Pharma-Rights

Ah, contraception. Sometimes, for fun, I buy the morning after pill just to rejoice in its availability at my local CVS pharmacy. If it’s nice outside, I’ll find a gaggle of twenty-something men and women and just make it rain plan B, condoms and birth control. Like a lawn sprinkler in the summertime. Of course, some pharmacy owners feel it necessary to rain on the plan B-contraceptive parade with negativity, sexism, and religious propaganda.

Yesterday’s Washington Post article discusses the growing number of “pro-life” drugstores popping up in cities nationwide (two are opening in Chantilly and Fairfax Virginia. Eeeek!) These stores look like any other local convenience store, except they do not fill birth control prescriptions or sell any items pertaining to contraception. Owners of these growing ‘religious chains’ believe “contraceptives promote promiscuity, divorce, the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and other societal woes.” They hope “to create an environment where belief and professionalism come together." This is some retro shit! Now legal and safe contraceptives will not be available for men and women who need it. Suddenly the idea of a convenience store does not seem so convenient.

While the code of conduct in these stores has varied from refusing to fill a woman’s birth control, to throwing away a woman’s prescription note, men and women are unaware of these pharmacists’ beliefs until they are refused assistance or embarrassed. The article does a good job of touching on the detriments this will have on women’s health and about the hypocrisy of many “pro-life” pharmacy owners who agree to sell Viagra, but refuse to provide women’s contraception. The author mentions that most states do not have laws banning such establishments, creating a gray legal area.

Obviously, the assurgency of these “pro-life” drugstores raises an abundance of health and human rights issues. Pharmacists and nurses who open these stores are also not ‘humoring’ the fact that contraceptive health applies to those in gay relationships, and that not all women who take birth control are having sex with men. So what about safe sex for gay women? These stores may have some lesbians buying karts of saran wrap and making dental dams MacGyver style. Rubber gloves for cleaning? HM, I may use one pair to clean my sink, and another to finger my hot neighbor.

Never mind the beneficial side effects of birth control. Never mind the necessity of condoms. Public facilities should not attempt to make our decisions for us. Right? Is it hypocritical of me to think it is “ok” to ban smoking in bars and restaurants for health reasons, or understand why some local convenience stores don’t sell alcohol? Despite the religious motivation, don’t these pharmacies have the right to not sell certain products? Contrarily, shouldn’t founders of “pro-life” stores, horrified by “societal woes” further limit their supply to healthy organic foods, red wine, Virgin Mary candles and maybe a Bible or two?

Maybe for every ‘pro-life’ store, I will open a ‘pro-MY life” store that will sell porn, dildos, birth control, condoms, lube, Chipotle, puppies and beer. Much better.