Wal-Mart’s Decision to Carry Plan B Is A Step In the Right Direction
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 3, 2006
Contact: Mary Alice Carr,646-326-4238
Wal-Mart’s Decision to Reverse Policy and Carry Plan B Emergency Contraceptives Is A Step in the Right Direction
Statement from NARAL Pro-Choice New York
NARAL Pro-Choice New York, the state’s largest reproductive rights advocacy organization, called Wal-Mart’s decision to reverse policy and begin carrying Plan B emergency contraception in its pharmacies a step in the right direction for women’s health.
Destiny Lopez, Vice President of Programs at NARAL Pro-Choice New York and Director of the national Back Up Your Birth Control with Emergency Contraception Campaign stated, “Wal-Mart’s decision today to carry Plan B emergency contraception is a step in the right direction. For so many women, especially those in rural areas, Wal-Mart is the only place where they can get prescriptions filled. Women will not need to waste precious time searching for a pharmacy that carries these pills.
We hope pharmacists in all of Wal-Mart’s 38 New York stores will fill prescriptions for women in a timely manner and give them a second chance to prevent pregnancy.”
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Facts on Emergency Contraception
- Emergency contraception is an extremely safe and effective method of back-up birth control, also known as the ‘morning-after-pill’.
- EC is 75 to 89 percent effective in reducing unintended pregnancies resulting from contraceptive failure, unprotected intercourse or sexual assault.
- EC is a higher dosage of standard birth control pills that must be taken within 120 hours of unprotected sexual activity to be effective.
- EC should not be confused with mifepristone (RU-486) as EC does not terminate an existing pregnancy, but rather prevents pregnancy by inhibiting or delaying ovulation, stopping fertilization, or preventing implantation. If a woman takes EC after she is already pregnant, the pills will not disrupt the pregnancy or harm the fetus in any way.
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