Girls Can Pick up Pill for Free at Supermarkets
Tesco supermarkets in north Somerset, England, aim at halving the rate of teenage pregnancies by 2010. Teenagers will be able to pick up the morning-after pill for free after a detailed interview at their local supermarket as they buy groceries.
Pro-life groups criticized the pilot scheme. Nuala Scarisbrick, a trustee of the Life charity, urged Life’s 35,000 members to boycott Tesco.
Sainsbury, the supermarket group, is taking part in a similar scheme in Bristol.
Moderator Comment: What do you think about Tesco and Sainsbury’s program to distribute the morning-after pill to girls under 20 for free?
There would be an immediate and very public reaction by pro-life groups if a retailer developed this type of program in the States. Just look at the controversy surrounding free condom distribution programs.
Tesco and Sainsbury must have calculated that even with a negative response from many that the net bottom line reaction will be positive.
[George
Anderson – Moderator]