CVS Refuses Foreign ID To Buy "Plan B" Birth Control
Reader John and his friend Michelle found themselves in a situation where they needed to get "Plan B" birth control, also known as "the morning after pill." They went to their local CVS in Hawthorne, CA. and met an uncooperative pharmacist who refused them access to the pills because Michelle only had foreign ID to prove she is of legal age. (18+) The pharmacist also refused John's state issued ID with the reason that it could not be sold to man, however, the FDA's website clearly says that Plan B can be sold OTC to a man or woman who is 18 or over. Find out what happened to John and Michelle, inside....
Ok, so we had an "accident" with our condom. We decided before it was too late to purchase the famous PlanB at a local CVS pharmacy. When we got there the pharmacist requested a "state issued I.D.". My friend is visiting so she does not have a state-issued I.D. so she showed her Colombian citizenship ID that clearly shows her date of birth as well as her picture and signature. The pharmacist did not even look at it and rejected it because it was not a US-issued I.D.
So I told her, "What if someone is here illegally and is raped? Would that mean they don't have the right to buy Plan B?" She kept saying "It's the law." I got really mad and told her that was absurd. Then I told her that I had a state-issued I.D. and she said that it could only be purchased by the person who is going to take it, which basically means it can only be sold to women.So we went back home and I searched online for information about purchasing Plan B, and I found on the FDA's website that as long as you are over 18, you can buy it, no matter if you are a male or a female.
I printed this information and headed back to the pharmacy. I confronted the pharmacist and told her that the law protects me as a consumer and that I had the right to buy the pill. She did not even look at the information I had printed and kept saying "It's the law."
We ended up buying it from another CVS pharmacy in the area. The pharmacist there was very polite. At the beginning she did not know that the law allows ANYONE over 18 to purchase it but she did not have a problem verifying her age with a foreign-issued ID.
Please publish this story. People need to know their rights. Thank you Consumerist!
We sympathize with you both. It sounds like this CVS pharmacist put you through a lot of trouble for no good reason because according to the FDA's website, a man or woman can purchase Plan B if they are 18 or older and does not mention the exclusion of foreign identification. From the FDA's website:
7a. How can I purchase over-the-counter Plan B?
In order to purchase Plan B over-the-counter, personal identification showing proof of age (18) is required. Plan B will be available behind the counter at the pharmacy in order to manage both prescription (17 years and under) and OTC (18 years and over) dispensing. This means Plan B will not be sold at gas stations or convenience stores, where other OTC products are routinely available.
7b. Can men purchase Plan B? (added 12/14/2006)
Yes. Plan B OTC is approved to allow OTC availability of Plan B for consumers 18 years and older. Plan B remains available by prescription only for women 17 years and younger.
We're happy to hear that the second CVS store accepted the foreign ID, even though neither store was aware that it could be legally purchased by a man of legal age. You should talk to the head pharmacists at both stores and inform them of the FDA's rules regarding Plan B. Also contact the store managers and let them know that the pharmacy is not operating within the FDA's guidelines. If that doesn't help then keep moving up the chain of command until the problem is acknowledged and corrected. You could also file a complaint with the California State Board of Pharmacy. It might sound like a lot of trouble but doing so will help ensure that others won't have to endure similar headaches.
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Post that CVS location's information so that we can call and ask for comment.
Your pharmacist was a Vogon.
At least you ended up getting it...when I was in Egypt, we had a lapse in judgement (read, heat of the moment), and spent the next full day in Cairo trying to find the morning after pill....in a muslim country...yea, we found one, eventually, but jesus that was a trip
Post the CVS location... why are we giving them safe haven here?
We had a situation in which the pharmacist didn't even know where in the store Plan B was and kept telling us to search the whole store by ourselves (meanwhile, it was behind the counter). She refused to ask her co-workers where it was and was just incredibly unhelpful.
We called the manager the next day and he was very, very helpful and offered to have the employee call us with an apology (not what we were looking for). However, he said they would retrain all the employees on the actual location of the products. Call the managers of the stores in question!!
@timmus:
Post the CVS location... why are we giving them safe haven here?Well, obviously Consumerist is in league with the Vatican and working to suppress any attempt to terminate pregnancies. This will figure heavily into the coming war of attrition with the legions of the damned in 2012, in which we will desperately need numbers on our side.
Or, y'know, maybe the info just wasn't included in the letter.
I think a stern talk to the managers (and escalating) is in order here.
I can't even imagine how much upsetting this would be. The funny thing is, if I were in this situation, it would be my husband out buying the pill. I'd probably in bed feeling quite nervous and just wanting to take the pill and be done with it.
I hope more of these places will realise that men are aloud to buy the pill as well.
I'm betting the pharmacist is pro-life.
maybe the pharmacist had a moral objection to selling and used the law as a shield. Its a poor excuse, but we have the right to refuse anything to anyone at anytime.
I for one sell it all the time as long as the age rquirement is met with a state or government id (foreign or not). I find it hard to believe that the CVS pharmacists were not aware of the law.
@statnut: If they are Pro Life, then it's too bad for them. They were presented with the facts from the FDA website itself stating that men are allowed to buy the drug, and refused him. They're allowed to have their beliefs, but the law pertaining to their profession needs to be followed.
@statnut:
Probably. They probably though that the ID thing would be a more reasonable sounding excuse than the religious nonsense.
I wish people like that would seek other lines of work, or just pass the work on to someone who actually wants to do their job.
@chemicalx9: A right to refuse anything to anyone at anytime?
According to who? You cannot break the law and fail to sell Plan B to someone if they are above 18 years of age, regardless of whether you agree with its purpose or not. That is federal law.
Unfortunatly complainging to the CVS manager is of no help, we tried that one time when they pharmacist would not take our insurance because they would have to "manually process". The CVS manager aparently has no authority over the pharmacy and the pharmacists are capable of making those kind of decisions and no one at cvs corporate can overturn them. We ended up finding a small family owned pharmacy that we could purchase my wife's diabetic supplies and haven't bought anything from a CVS in a few years now.
i don't think it's reasonable to expect a pharmacist to be able to recognize an authentic Columbian ID card. Quite reasonable to reject that; where was the girl's passport?
Not selling to the man, particularly when he could show that the law allowed it, is ridiculous though.
Why don't you say which CVS this incident took place at, and list the pharmacist's name? That way consumers will know which CVS to avoid.
@facted: What's the federal law, that you are required to sell Plan B to someone 18 or older if they request it, or that you are not allowed to sell to someone under 18?
@facted:
There is no "law" for Plan B. There are only guidelines for its sale from the FDA. The FDA regulates the sale, but like any other good or service does not enforce the sale other than what falls within its guidelines.
Recently WA state made an attempt to force pharmacists to sell / dispense any rx / drug...it was struck down by the supreme court as unconstitutional. Only the states who regulate the practice of pharmacy may make laws regarding the compulsory sale of Plan B
@chemicalx9: Screw "moral objections" that involve telling other people what to do. If they refuse to do their job, they should be fired. I don't care if they have some imaginary reason why they can't do it.
Taking a moral stand requires that you sacrifice sometimes. These pharmacists want it both ways - being able to push their morality on others while being protected from repercussions.
Although yeah, it's not clear if this particular person was lying about their reasons or was just stupid and uninformed. Either way, they should face discipline from corporate or their manager.
i like the euphamisms.
His "friend" from Columbia.
Heh.
@vladthepaler: Is it THAT big a deal if they someone who is under 18 somehow gets their hands on this OTC product? We all know that political posturing by conservatives is the only reason that the age limit exists in the first place (if you don't believe me, Google for articles about the debate on making Plan B OTC). The pharmacist should have just let them have it. Sometimes strictly following regulations serves no purpose, and it's better to just bend the rules slightly when you have reasonable reason to believe the person is 18. And in any case, you're right, they should have sold it to the guy.
I bet CVS will be "taking this very seriously."
@facted:
So all doctors should be FORCED to perform abortions, right? Because heaven forbid a pharmacist not do something they're morally opposed to.
(FWIW, I have no problem dispensing the pill and think that any pharmacist who refuses to do so is ethically obligated to find a pharmacy nearby that will do so).
@apotheosis: If they don't own their own business, yep, it should be legal to fire them. If you take a job that requires you to violate your religious beliefs, then you should be willing to be fired over it if taking a stand on it is that important to you. Otherwise don't take that job. They're not being fired for holding a certain belief; they're being fired for refusing to do their job.
Now, if there is some other way that the employer can easily accommodate both the religious belief and their customers then I don't see a problem with that. For example, if a pharmacy has more than one pharmacist on duty I don't see a problem with the one that has a moral objection to birth control simply asking that the other pharmacist fill those prescriptions. But patients just not getting their prescriptions is not an acceptable solution.
Yeah, they should be fired. Do your job or GTFO.
@MBPharmD:
Not all doctors. But those who are in the OB/GYN should.
As for the pharmacists, they should quit their jobs if they're so morally opposed to medicine.
@MBPharmD: Doctors being forced to perform abortions is a really poor analogy. If you're a doctor and you don't want to perform abortions, don't take a job as an abortion doctor. If you're a pharmacist and you don't like dispensing birth control, don't take a job that requires you to do so (get a job at a Catholic hospital or something instead). But don't screw people over just because you think you should be able to randomly refuse to perform job duties and then expect to keep your job.
@MBPharmD: That's what abortion clinics are for. Just because you're a doctor, doesn't mean that you specialize in every facet of medicine.
@johnva:
They're not being fired for holding a certain belief; they're being fired for refusing to do their job.
...as a result of their beliefs. ACLU Lawsuits and indignation soon to follow.
Don't get me wrong, I agree with you; I'm just taking a devil's advocate position here. I seem to recall a similar situation with Islamic cashiers at Target who refused to ring up pork products, which was resolved by moving the cashiers to different positions in the store.
@MBPharmD: Hey, if you're morally opposed to doing something that your employer wants you to do, sounds like you should seek employment elsewhere, not try to force your beliefs on someone else.
Yes, they should. Here in Minnesota we have a lot of Somali cab driver who were refusing to pick people up at the airport who had purchased liquor and had it with them. Do your job or quit.
@apotheosis: Exactly. If you're a pharmacist and don't want to dispense an in-stock, legal medication, the store should move you to another job. Like using your expensive Pharmacy degree to help you push a broom around the store.
@apotheosis: The Islamic cashiers thing could probably be relatively reasonably accommodated by the employer, like I said, at a big store like Target. They could just call someone else over to ring up those products in that situation. In the case of a pharmacy, a single person may well be the only one on location licensed to dispense a drug at any given time. So in that case by refusing to dispense they are violating both the rights of the patient to obtain a legal drug (and, worse, a time sensitive one in this case), and the rights of their employer to make revenue from that sale. I mean, could the lone clerk at a hardware store get away with telling all the customers they have a "moral objection" to selling lumber and turning people towards a competitor? This refusal is just as random as that.
@apotheosis: Damn right they should. You can't refuse to carry a guide dog. Plus, they're being jackasses.
UGH this sort of thing infuriates me. What century is this? We are way behind in distributing this medication.
I do wish this store's information was included; they deserve the calls (or whatever) they would get as a result. Perhaps the OPs are trying to stay anonymous though.
The only time I've needed Plan B, I was in college, and the school simply gave it to me at the nurse's office, no fuss. But sometimes I wish I did need it, because if I was refused it, I would throw the BIGGEST FIT IMAGINABLE. And then I would call the news, and stand in front of the store while I threw a fit on TV.
There are two people who have the right to make decisions about what drugs a person does and does not get: Themselves, and their doctor. As this is a very safe drug that the FDA has determined doesn't require a doctor's input, that leaves the individual. Anybody else can FUCK RIGHT OFF, because their opinions/beliefs/whatever have NO place in it.
@timmus: Hmmm, there are quite a few CVS stores in Hawthorne.
[maps.google.com]
Well, that settles it, I'm just not going to any of those! That will also save me a 2,500+ mile drive, so it's truly a win-win.
@Mary Marsala with Fries: Amen. A friend tried to get Plan B in very rural Oklahoma and had a terrible time finding a pharmacist who wasn't morally opposed or "out of stock". I wished I had been there to throw a pissed off temper tantrum.
@Mary Marsala with Fries: Personally, I think Plan B should be on accessible store shelves and not behind a pharmacy counter. I suspect that part of the motivation behind regulating it in this way was just to provide an opportunity for fundamentalist pharmacists to refuse to dispense it.
Ok. The FDA regulates the restrictions on Plan B. They also enforce the law when the law is broken. No law was broken. Depending on the state, the pharmacist may be able to refuse to sell it for any reason at all (not that it is good business practice). Some states do not allow that. On the basis that it was a foreign ID, the pharmacist is correct. Only government issued IDs are acceptable. However, when the male used his government issued ID to buy it, there was no a problem. So why did the pharmacist refuse? If it was based on morals then I completely disagree. A Pharmacist should not push their beliefs on another individual. Are they themselves taking the Plan B? No. I believe it is highly UNETHICAL and unprofessional to do such a thing.
Further more, do not complain to the store manager. Call the pharmacy, and ask for the district manager's name and phone number and the name of the pharmacist who refused to sell you the product. Complain directly to the district manager. This doesn't mean you will get anywhere since most of them are complete morons when it comes to management, however, they have the authority over the pharmacies of the area. If the district manager (who are also pharmacists) will not fix the problem, ask for the name and number of his superior and work your way up.
Taking it to the board of pharmacy is a pretty strenuous complaint. This matter I think should be resolved through the corporation. No need to have someone's license suspended over a matter this small. You wouldn't want to hurt someone financially over a matter like this? I wouldn't.
The MD analogy of abortions is not equivalent. OB/GYNs are a specialty and trained to perform these procedures. If they will not do that procedure then they should work in a place that doesn't do them. Just as a retail pharmacist is trained in retail medications and OTC medications, if they don't want to dispense what they have in stock from personal beliefs they should find another place of employment.
I know that many states are trying to have legislation passed that protects a pharmacist if they refuse to sell Plan B which I completely disagree with.
Would a criminal attorney not represent an accused person if they believed they were not innocent? No. Their job is to argue their case regardless of what they feel about their client.
I must say, I have worked for CVS in the past as a pharmacy student, and quite frankly, most of it's employees, managers, and some pharmacists are completely oblivious to the state pharmacy and labor laws that surround the employment place. Better to go to the smaller pharmacies who offer better customer service and who aren't completely incompetent overall. BTW, CVS is also known for trying to steal tax payer money and bribing government employees. Look it up.
-Phex
-3rd Year PharmD/MBA Candidate
Most people really don't give a shit about the law when it comes in to conflict with their religious beliefs.
Check out the story about the Muslim cab driver, he was charged and fined but still didn't care because he would NOT violate his religious beliefs for anything, even if doing so resulted in an illegal act.
I'm Dutch and I could just get a morning after pill for less than €15, it's right next to the pregnancy tests. Just seeing it there made me think of the absurdity the Americans have to go through to get emergency birth control.
And you can add that to the list of reasons that I think religious beliefs are crazy.
This isn't a bad country as such, but we do have to deal with some puritanical bullshit in order to enjoy the other benefits of living here.
Here was our experience: we got the prescription, went to the Rite Aid. The guy behind the counter said they didn't carry it, but gave her a card with a number, which he hand-wrote, that he said she could call for help.
I smelled a rat and Googled the number. It was a religious pregnancy counseling center.
We called a few more pharmacies, including a CVS, and the Super Fresh was the first one that actually carried it. We told the story to the pharmacist there and she was shocked.
We have filled every prescription at Super Fresh since then.
I had read about this kind of thing happening in little rural towns, but this was in a middle-class suburb of Baltimore. We were both clearly over 18. We had a prescription (from a, you know, DOCTOR). And we were in it together. I can only imagine how up the creek a younger, more scared, more alone woman in this situation would have been.
The Rite Aid (boo): 8601 Baltimore National Pike, Ellicott City MD.
The Super Fresh (yay): 3301 North Ridge Rd, Ellicott City MD.
@dragonfire81: Well then, they shouldn't care if they get fired. I fully support employers' right to fire any pharmacist that refuses to dispense certain prescriptions for "moral" reasons. I would go further and say that they should also be allowed to ask during the hiring process if the prospective employee would have any moral objection to doing their job.
Yes, there is a bit of a dilemma here for the law because of the conflict of "rights". This dilemma, however, is completely the fault of the people who think they have a right to push their subjective beliefs on others. In the past, this wouldn't have been much of a problem because people had the common sense to not take jobs that conflict with their beliefs. For example, would a Christian fundamentalist take a job as an exotic dancer and then complain that the job duties require them to take their clothes off? And then refuse to do it, while also demanding that they not be fired? This whole "problem" is the result of people who seem to be putting themselves in positions just to try to force other people into line with their own beliefs.
Specifically not selling to a male ALSO violates california law.