Does Wal-Mart Want You Armed, Barefoot and Pregnant?

IN SEPTEMBER 1998, a company called Preven released an over-the-counter emergency contraception (or "morning-after pill") kit. It contains a high dosage of birth-control pills that, if taken up to 72 hours after unprotected sex, can prevent a fertilized egg from implanting in a woman's uterus.

It's a safe, affordable method of preventing an unplanned pregnancy -- before it even happens. And because the pill is taken before pregnancy occurs, the morning-after pill is NOT an abortion. In the past, a woman could only get emergency contraception from her doctor; Preven made it accessible everywhere.

Except, that is, at Wal-Mart.

Citing only a "business decision," Wal-Mart has refused to carry Preven. This leaves many, like Planned Parenthood, speculating whether the company fears pressure from right-wing, pro-life groups who believe that life begins as soon as an egg is fertilized.

REMEMBER the Sheryl Crow scandal a few years back? When Crow criticized Wal-Mart in a song for selling guns, the company refused to carry her album.

On a quick jaunt to Wal-Mart's website, I learned that I could order hunting and gun-related paraphernalia (scopes, knives, gun-cleaning kits) online with my credit card. Curious, I logged on with a phony username and tried to order.

No problem. The company took a completely hands-off approach, presenting only basic product information. I received no warnings or disclaimers. And despite the rash of recent school shootings, Wal-Mart took no measures to restrict my access by age.

If I were, say, a teenage boy with homicidal urges and a parent's credit card, Wal-Mart would ship my goods within 24 hours. But were I a teenage girl, scared because my boyfriend's condom broke, Wal-Mart would greet me with nothing but an empty shelf.

To my eyes, it seems Wal-Mart wants to maintain a squeaky-clean image as a "family" store -- and it doesn't want "controversial" politics hurting its sales. (With more than 2,400 stores in the United States, Wal-Mart is the United States' fifth-largest pharmaceutical chain store.) In the convoluted mess of religion, politics, and money, Wal-Mart is perpetuating a traditional idea of "family" -- where the man is in charge, and the woman doesn't make any important decisions, least of all about her own body.

For years, emergency contraception has been called "America's best-kept secret." (A 1997 survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 40% of adults in the U.S. had never heard of it, and 70% didn't even know that it was available here.) Wal-Mart could ensure that it stays that way.

(May 1999)

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