Interim Staff
The Winnipeg Free Press reported that convinced that that the morning-after pill or so-called emergency contraceptives can cause an abortion, some Manitoba pharmacists are refusing to sell them. The paper contacted pharmacies to discover if they carried the drug levonorgestrel, better known as Plan B. Somewhat surprisingly, the paper found that while pharmacies near smaller Mennonite communities such as Steinbach do not carry the abortifacicent drug, nearly a quarter of drug stores in Winnipeg do not stock Plan B. According to Focus on the Family, pharmacists in Canada have the right to refuse to sell the product as a matter of conscience, as long as they refer customers to health-care workers who do offer Plan B. A doctor’s prescription is not required to buy it.
Physicians for Life spokesperson Cristina Alarcon said that there are “probably several hundred” pharmacists who refuse to sell the product.
