Damn, I haven't even finished my coffee yet and this is what I see:
Pharmacists deter 1 in 5 17 yr olds from Plan B.
http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/...
As in, lying to said teen girls and telling them that they are too young to acquire this product at all, even though it is an Over the Counter product for women 17 and older.
I don't act surprised. I mean, I am sure the conscience clause includes permission to LIE TO PEOPLE.
An undercover survey found that many of the pharmacies that told girls they were too young to get emergency contraception offered correct information when a doctor called seeking the pill for a 17-year-old patient, according to a report in the latest issue of the journal Pediatrics.
Of course they didn't lie to an adult doctor. The doctor would most likely detect the lie and do something about it, like FILE A COMPLAINT with the Pharmacy.
Oddly enough this made me think of something that police do to liquor stores and convenience stores with regards to cigarettes and alcohol sales. They would send youngsters inside to do a sting, to see how the clerks to would respond to a minor's attempt to buy Tobacco and Alcohol products.
I guess feminists are going to have to start running similar operations.
On a related note, in Oklahoma, Pregnancy tests are often put behind locked cabinets with other items. The pharmacists tell us that it is because embarrassed teens will often try to shop-lift these items.
I find that difficult to believe. If you suspect you are pregnant, and want to test yourself to see, why risk being picked up by the police and having a permanent entry in your arrest record reflecting not only that you shop lifted, but that what you were stealing was a pregnancy test.
That seems stupid, even for most teenagers--especially because there are always kids like me who just didn't give a shit and would have purchased said item without blinking for a friend.
So I am going out on a limb here and declaring that reasoning BS.
The real reason they put those items behind locked glass: To put one more obstacle between a girl and the ability to purchase a test while feeling that she is not being made a spectacle by a self-righteous jerk behind a counter.
One of the questions asked by the individuals posing as teens:
“My friends said there is an age rule [regarding access without a prescription] -- do you know what it is?”
"Pharmacy employees answered that incorrectly 43 percent of the time."
This is totally unacceptable.
Women and girls can emulate this experiment at home, and make a list of pharmacies that fail to comply and file complaints.
Refusing to serve isn't the same as lying to a person outright. These people shouldn't be made to feel that it is okay to lie and that nothing will come of their dishonesty.