• ComradeSalad
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    1 year ago

    They usually have a pharmacy section with vitamins, first aid, condoms, and the like.

    Plan B is not birth control, it’s an emergency contraceptive for dire situations.

    Birth control can only (and should only) be prescribed by actual doctors.

    • 133arc585@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      Birth control can only (and should only) be prescribed by actual doctors.

      The FDA approved an over-the-counter hormonal birth control about a week ago; no doctor interaction needed.

      • ComradeSalad
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        1 year ago

        That’s good! In my knowledge it is a very finicky and dangerous to play around with medication, so an over the counter would be great!

        • 133arc585@lemmy.ml
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          1 year ago

          In my knowledge it is a very finicky and dangerous to play around with medication, so an over the counter would be great!

          Over-the-counter means it’s just on the shelves (as opposed to prescription-only, or even to behind-the-counter). You don’t have to interact with anyone except the cashier (or self-checkout machine).

          I am torn on how I feel about it being freely available for purchase. On the one hand, in the current environment where lack of access to birth control can cause permanent detrimental effects on the trajectory of one’s life, and in which access to doctors who can dispense that medication is not readily available to everyone, the ability to simply walk in and purchase it off the shelf is very beneficial. The only benefit I see to having it be prescribed by a doctor is a (good) doctor forces you to listen to their paragraph about the potential harms and what side effects to watch out for. Mind you, if someone wants to educate themselves, they don’t need a doctor for that, as the information can be found freely online (or even in books at a library!); but, surely there will be plenty of people who don’t care to educate themselves on the potential dangers. Overall, I’m definitely on the side of this being a good decision, but to pretend it is entirely without risk is not accurate.

      • ComradeSalad
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        1 year ago

        Walmart isn’t a supermarket, only about 1/3rd of the store sells food, the other 2/3rds sell beauty products, cloths, electronics, TV’s, sewing supplies, paint, guns, appliances, garden equipment, toys, etc. Literally everything you will ever need in life can be sold at a Walmart.

        • 133arc585@lemmy.ml
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          1 year ago

          Plenty of supermarkets in the USA do sell condoms and Plan B, not just Walmart. I’ve seen both in many chains that are just grocery stores, that don’t have other departments.