Wal-Mart Forced to Carry Abortion Pill

Wal-Mart has decided to quit fighting the various state battles and give in on the issue of the morning after abortion pill:

Officials of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced Friday the company will reverse its earlier policy and stock emergency contraception pills in all of its pharmacies effective March 20, saying the giant retailer could not justify being the country's only major pharmacy chain not to carry the morning-after pill.

The announcement comes after Massachusetts last month ordered the world's largest retailer to stock the so-called Plan B pill, following a lawsuit by three Boston women against Wal-Mart.

Illinois also requires pharmacies to carry the prescription drug, and those are the only two states where Wal-Mart has so far stocked emergency contraception.

"We expect more states to require us to sell emergency contraceptives in the months ahead," said Ron Chomiuk, vice president of pharmacy for Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart.

There's no question that state after state was going to file expensive lawsuits or pass laws demanding Wal-Mart provide the abortion pill to its customers. For the sake of the company's shareholders, it was probably a wise decision, though one that I'm sure they didn't enter into lightly.