I am so angry right now.
This morning, my boyfriend went to a pharmacy in the middle of Manhattan in order to buy the Plan B emergency contraceptive pill at my request. Plan B is available “over-the-counter” to anyone, male or female, over the age of 18. Well, in theory. Apparently that’s not really true.
I emphasize this again: MALE OR FEMALE.
The pharmaceutical staff wouldn’t sell it to him because he was a man. They justified this by saying “obviously it’s not for you”. He had identification proving he was over 18. They didn’t care. If he didn’t have MY i.d., they weren’t going to sell it to him, because, after all, he could be lying and might give it to a 13 year old girl (another one of the reasons given by a staff member).
The reason I didn’t go down to the pharmacy myself was because I felt like hell. I knew he should have been able to get it, so I asked him to. Little did I think that in one of the most notoriously liberal places in the country, fucking New York City, the people who have the power to distribute EC in their grubby little hands would be so moronically ill informed and too lazy to even try and figure out what it is that they are supposed to do.
So I get a call from him. They won’t give it to him unless I’m there. I go down there.
I explain to the staff that, in the United States, any woman OR man over the age of 18 can buy Plan B over the counter. They say yes, they know, but only if he has my identification rather than his own, which, besides making no fucking sense, is blatantly wrong. I explain this to them. They don’t care and they don’t listen, nor do they make any attempt to follow up on my claims. They tell me to show them my i.d. I do. I show them my fucking birth certificate. They say it’s not enough, that they need a photo i.d., which is also wrong. The woman I give these documents to confers with the other pharmacists about whether or not my birth certificate is valid enough to sell me this medication. Already livid, I am amazed. Every single person I spoke to and dealt with WAS A WOMAN, and they weren’t even well informed enough to know these things. Finally, after jumping though these hoops for some supposedly over-the-counter medication, I am given the right to purchase it for almost $50.00.
If the pharmaceutical staff in the middle of Manhattan is this negligent about the actual policies regarding Plan B, imagine how much worse it is in other parts of the country where women have even less access to the medicine and even more stupid fucking people who try to prevent them from getting it.
I’m reporting this to every organization I can get my hands on. I’m astounded and repulsed by the ignorance which seems to dominate the general population regarding women’s health issues.
frecklescassie said,
March 17, 2007 @ 9:13 pm
WoW!!!!! I live in an area with just CVS and Walgreens, and I wonder if one of them would do the same stupid stuff. Sorry that they were such jerks.
Cassie
Apple said,
March 18, 2007 @ 12:57 am
That’s ridiculous. I can only imagine what would happen here in the south if I attempted to buy plan b. I can’t, however, say that I’m surprised by this. That in itself is pretty depressing.
(I responded to your comments, btw.)
gingermiss said,
March 19, 2007 @ 6:03 am
I grew up in the South, so I know what you mean. It’s atrocious. It honestly surprised me just because I thought, of all places in the fucking country, the MIDDLE OF MANHATTAN would be a place where you could at least expect people to be slightly more well informed about these issues than the majority of the country.
The next time you go to Walgreens or CVS frecklescassie, you should ask the pharmacy for it (if you’re over 18) just to see if they’ll give it to you.
I feel like carrying a sandwich board around with the text, “BOTH MEN AND WOMEN CAN GET PLAN B – YOU DO NOT NEED TO HAVE A PHOTO, GOVERNMENT ISSUED I.D.” plastered on it.
frecklescassie said,
March 19, 2007 @ 3:47 pm
gingermiss — i am 15 and if i walked into my local CVS, i guarantee someone i know would hear me and tell my brother and he’d freak out BIG time. May get someone else to try it. :)
gingermiss said,
March 20, 2007 @ 1:19 am
Hey, that’s cool – I applaud you for being 15 and taking an active interest in these issues. I wish more younger women and girls did the same since it affects them too!
Divine Purpose said,
March 20, 2007 @ 1:22 am
wow ginger…. I had no idea… Pls do report and thank you for posting this… wow…
Divine Purpose said,
March 20, 2007 @ 10:56 am
I think I will try to see just how easy it is to get the plan b today at my local pharmacy, just to test it to see how easy it is, or isnt.
Divine Purpose said,
March 20, 2007 @ 10:57 am
FURTHERMORE IF IT IS LEAGAL DAMNIT WHY ARE THERE SUCH STIPULATIONS????
If you live in Alaska, California, Hawaii, Maine, New Mexico, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts or Washington, you can get Plan B® without a prescription at some pharmacies; however, you should call your pharmacy in advance to make sure they offer and stock Plan B®.
THAT was taken directly from their site….
gingermiss said,
March 20, 2007 @ 10:43 pm
I know, it’s freaking amazing, isn’t it?
It SHOULD be available to every woman of any age, any nationality, or any financial situation, but it’s not because of the male dominated politics that are blatantly running the country.
The FDA makes me sick with what was done over Plan B. Sick to my stomach. And way WAY more people should be damn angry about it.
Melinda said,
March 25, 2007 @ 5:04 pm
I’m sorry to read about your difficulty obtaining Plan B. You might be interested in The Pill Patrol (http://pillpatrol.saveroe.com/), which is asking for volunteers to gather data on the dispensing practises of local pharmacies.
More information at the website.
gingermiss said,
March 26, 2007 @ 3:02 am
I would 100% be interested. Thank you for the link.
35th Carnival of Feminists « The Blog and the Bullet said,
April 6, 2007 @ 12:54 am
[...] More evidence that pharmacists in the US are routinely restricting access to the morning after pill from Ginger Miss, who asked her boyfriend to pick some up for her. Although the law guarantees both men and women the right to buy emergency contraceptives, he ran into problems when he tried to exercise that right. [...]