Harris Teeter Pharmacies Respond to Public’s Call to Stock Plan B®
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 16, 2007 Harris Teeter Pharmacies Respond to Public’s Call to Stock Plan B® Pro-choice activists urge pharmacy chain to share stocking policy with customers Raleigh, NC. – Melissa Reed, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina, announced today that after repeated correspondence and public pressure, all Harris Teeter pharmacies in North Carolina are stocking the emergency contraceptive, Plan B®. “This victory for women’s health marks an important first step for improving access to birth control,” Reed said. “Availability of emergency contraception is critical to reducing unintended pregnancy. We applaud Harris Teeter for setting an example for all pharmacy chains that women deserve access to their prescriptions without hassle or delay.” In May 2007, NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina and NARAL Pro-Choice America’s volunteer-led survey found that 25 percent of Harris Teeter pharmacies in the Southeast were not stocking Plan B®. After numerous correspondence with Harris Teeter officials, all but three of the pharmacies in North Carolina began to stock the medication. While Harris Teeter stated that the company has a stocking policy, not all the pharmacies were in compliance. After two more letters, and media attention in the News & Observer, the final three stores report having the product in stock. Reed said that while Harris Teeter fixed the immediate problem, the pharmacy chain has still not shared its stocking policy with customers. She said Harris Teeter should make its policy public to ensure that their customers know that they can obtain the medication at any Harris Teeter store. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. According to a recent study by NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina, 40 percent of pharmacies in North Carolina do not carry emergency contraception (EC). Among those pharmacies that did not currently stock EC, more than 30 percent refused to even order it upon a customer’s request. Emergency contraception is a concentrated dose of ordinary birth-control pills that can dramatically reduce a woman’s chance of becoming pregnant if taken soon after sex. EC does not cause abortion; rather it is a safe and effective way to prevent pregnancy and was recently approved for over-the-counter sales for adults. For more information on NARAL Pro-Choice North Carolina’s survey of Harris Teeter pharmacies, click here. Contact: Amy Woodell, (919) 829-9779 ###
| 
