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LOS ANGELES (AFX) -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Friday that all its pharmacies will begin carrying Plan B contraceptives, effective March 20, reversing the retailer's resistance to marketing the products.
The retail behemoth said in a release Friday that it expects other states to follow suit with Illinois and Massachusetts, which currently require that pharmacies carry the products. So now the company will allow the products to be sold at its 3,700 pharmacies.
"We expect more states to require us to sell emergency contraceptives in the months ahead," Ron Chomiuk, Wal-Mart's vice president in charge of its pharmacies, said in a press release. "Because of this, and the fact that this is an FDA-approved product, we feel it is difficult to justify being the country's only major pharmacy chain not selling it."
Wal-Mart spokeswoman Sharon Weber said the company would not comment beyond its four-paragraph written statement, released Friday afternoon.
Commonly known as emergency contraceptives or "morning after" pills, the products have put Wal-Mart in a dilemma. The retailer has tried to reflect the values of middle America and resisted putting them on its shelves, it has maintained, for "business reasons."
Chomiuk said Wal-Mart will maintain its "conscientious objection" policy, which will allow its pharmacists to refer customers to other pharmacies if they are uncomfortable dispensing the product - provided the policy is not prohibited by law.
"This decision has been made after careful consideration and in the belief that we are doing what is best for the business, while respecting our individual associates," he went on to say in the release. This story was supplied by MarketWatch. For further information see
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