Protest of Wal-Mart's Refusal to Fill Contraceptive Prescriptions

To:  Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Bentonville, AR 72716-8611

Dear Wal-Mart executives,

Wal-Mart's policy of refusal to dispense prescriptions for Emergency Birth Control -- or birth control at all if the pharmacist who receives the prescription is opposed to it -- is appalling and should be revoked immediately.

We, as customers, believe medical decisions are between a physician and his or her patient. Pharmacists are directed to dispense prescriptions based on a doctor's orders, and the personal belief system of the pharmacist should play no role in whether or not a particular medicine is dispensed or withheld. We would prefer to pick up our prescriptions without a side order of someone else's morality or discrimination. Birth control pills aren't just for pregnancy! Some women are prescribed the pills to control heavy periods/bleeding or hormonal imbalances, while other women use the pill to assist in clearing up acne, for instance.

It is ironic that your pharmacists readily dispense Viagra -- a medication that assists a man in obtaining an erection for the purpose of having sex (which can lead to making a woman pregnant) -- and yet you have the audacity to claim that any of your pharmacists may decline to fill a prescription for birth control pills! That is the height of hypocrisy.

Without consumers and loyal customers, Wal-Mart would not exist. Your company would not be as large or as pervasive as it is today. By alienating the largest majority of your customer demographic (women), as well as insulting them and treating them as if they have no right to make their OWN decisions about their OWN bodies (and dictating that an employee CAN make arbitrary decisions about a woman customer's reproductive system), Wal-Mart is treading a dangerous path that could result in a widespread boycott across this nation.

We urge you to revisit your archaic stance on Emergency Birth Control and the dispensation of birth control pills. Women are NOT children, and we are definitely not YOUR children. The decisions about our bodies are private and we choose to discuss them with our health professionals. Your pharmacists have a primary directive -- that is to serve the customer in a courteous, professional manner. Personal biases or religious beliefs are better left in the parking lot when employees come to work each day. As customers, we don't CARE what your religious stance is on birth control; your job is to simply fill our prescriptions without further comment.

We urge you to revoke this discriminatory and harmful policy directed toward women.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The Protest of Wal-Mart's Refusal to Fill Contraceptive Prescriptions Petition to Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. was created by and written by Bev Walton-Porter (gothic_mom64@yahoo.com).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.

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