Limbaugh: Wal-Mart should charge Massachusetts "lib babes" $1,000 per pill for emergency contraception
SUMMARY: Rush Limbaugh said that Wal-Mart should charge "a thousand bucks a pill," for emergency contraception pills because "the last place you want to be is between a ... liberal woman and her morning-after pill."
Commenting on a Massachusetts lawsuit filed against Wal-Mart over its refusal to stock emergency contraception pills, nationally syndicated radio host Rush Limbaugh told listeners on February 14 , "[I]f I were Wal-Mart ... I would stock one bottle [of emergency contraception pills]" and charge "a thousand bucks a pill." Limbaugh also said that "the last place you want to be is between a ... liberal woman and her morning-after pill. You don't want to be in her path when -- if ... she needs her morning-after. Just get out of the way." Limbaugh later added: "Wal-Mart's one of the biggest enemies that the libs have in this country. And now, all of a sudden, here you had a couple lib babes -- three of them -- that needed a morning-after pill and wanted to go to Wal-Mart." As Media Matters for America has previously noted, Limbaugh made nearly identical comments on the February 2 broadcast of his radio program.
On February 1, three women filed a lawsuit against Wal-Mart for allegedly violating a Massachusetts state regulation that "requires pharmacies to provide all 'commonly prescribed medicines.' " Wal-Mart resisted, stating that the company "chooses not to carry many products for business reasons." Wal-Mart has refused to elaborate further, but according to a February 1 Associated Press article, "in a letter to [the plaintiffs' attorney Sam] Perkins regarding the lawsuit, Wal-Mart attorney John W. Delaney wrote that Wal-Mart has 'long had the corporate policy of declining to make available EC (emergency contraception) medication, based on, among other things, a view that EC medication is not 'commonly prescribed.' ' " On February 14, the Massachusetts state pharmacy board -- in a unanimous decision -- ordered Wal-Mart to begin stocking emergency contraceptive pills.
From the February 14 broadcast of The Rush Limbaugh Show:
LIMBAUGH: I don't believe this either. This is -- you know that story -- we had this -- some -- Wal-Mart was not stocking the morning-after pill. And I said, "Oh, this is -- this is big trouble."
It's in Massachusetts. The last place you want to be is between a -- a liberal woman and her morning-after pill. You don't want to be in her path when if -- if -- if she needs her morning after. Just get out of the way and then Wal-Mart didn't stock 'em.
[...]
And, of course, that doesn't matter because you've got bureaucrats in Massachusetts that can tell Wal-Mart what they have to carry. Now, this is a big problem for the libs 'cause here they're trying to put Wal-Mart out of business.
Wal-Mart's one of the biggest enemies that the libs have in this country. And now, all of a sudden, here you had a couple lib babes -- three of them -- that needed a morning-after pill and wanted to go to Wal-Mart.
What I would do if I were Wal-Mart here -- I would stock one bottle. "You going to make me do this? OK. I'll put one bottle and we're charging a thousand bucks a pill." That's what I would do.
I have a sneaky suspicion that EC use is much more prevalent among conservative women than Limbaugh thinks. How does he know these women were "libs"? I guess any woman that uses contraception must be a "lib". This guy is losing it.
that if one of the Bush twins were to show up at home pregnant, that it would be very quietly taken care of, whether it was legal or not. Remember - The laws only apply to those who can't afford the price to get around them. Heck, the Bush family doctor probably keeps a stock of EC pills on hand, just in case, so little Jenna or Barbara wouldn't have to suffer the indignity of going to a Wal-Mart for their pills.
Have I mentioned how much I hate these people???
and, by the way, it's not their party I hate, it's not their personality, and it's not their rhetoric - it's their actions, plain and simple - this group doesn't have an honest or decent bone in their bodies - any of 'em. And ol' hillbilly heroine Rush is right there helping them along. These guys really, really make me sick.
Limbaugh lectures about pills. Maybe next we'll see Dick Cheney on gun safety.
but so observent!LMAO!
Rush paid for his drug of choice and didn't sue when his supplier CHOSE not to carry it. Come to think of it, my local Walmart doesn't sell beer either. I need to sue!!! Why should I have to drive to another store just to buy what I want to buy, right!!!!!
WalMart offers regular birth control pills, and emergency contraception and regular birth control pills are the same, it's just the dosage that differs.
Let's acknowledge the obvious here. WalMart's refusal to stock EC, just like individual pharmacists' refusals to fill EC prescriptions even when their pharmacy has it in stock, is pure bias against women who want to control whether or not they become pregnant. Like it or not, EC and abortions) are legal in the U.S.
Massachusetts - and Illinois - made the right decisions.
so what if walmart chooses not to carry a product? some one else will
Rush was getting his drugs illegally from his ex-cleaning lady. You cannot sue an illegal drug dealer for not stocking your drug of choice (although it would have been fun to watch him try).
By supplier, you of course mean his maid and her boyfriend, right?
And BTW, your local Wal-Mart doesn't sell beer? There must be a state law or local ordinance against it then, because my local Wal-Mart has a HUGE beer section. If they didn't I would sue them for making me drive to Kroger to buy beer. (JOKE)
No, they say it's a personal choice. It's not the only Walmart I've seen it in. The Walmart the next town over carries it, just not this one.
Beer is not a prescription medication - Emergency Contraception is. The MA state pharmacy board has the right to regulate the operation of pharmacies, which apparently (see above???), includes requiring the pharmacy to carry certain medications. Rush would have had difficulty suing his suppliers for not carrying his drug, particularly considering that he was obtaining them illegally? If WalMart doesn't like it, then they can just stay on their moral high horse and close their MA pharmacies in protest- which, of course, they won't. So? Too bad - if they don't like the law, they can lobby to change it. In the meantime they'll just have to follow the rules.
Hey, where does Limbaugh get off calling liberal women babes? I thought (according to him) liberal women were ugly. Or was that feminists? Or was that feminazis?? Good grief, I can't keep the Limbaugh speak straight. I need a drink. I think I'll call Dick Cheney.
he'll join ya for a shot or two.
"I figured the sheer absurdity of my statement would make it obvious that it was a joke. I guess not. I must work on that." - rusty shackleford
Touche', that part was intened to be a joke.
You got me! Good one.
like a joke, but it sounded like you were using a joke to support ol' "oxy" Limbaugh. My bad if you were not!
Maybe if Limbaugh's supplier(s) had charged Limbaugh $1,000 per pill, he wouldn't have turned into a drug addict.
I was going to use McDonald's charging him $1000 per Big Mac.
Sort of a McD-Guzzler Tax? That'd work, too.
we were to tell Rush that you could get high on contraceptives he'd try it???
If the conservative argument against this is that it is up to god to control reproduction then what about Viagra. Shouldn't old, fat republicans just accept the fact that they are over the hill and resign themselves to no sex for the rest of their lives. I've never heard of a drug store not carrying Viagra.
Rush arguing about women's right to use drugs amorally? I guess he pulled another oxy'limbaugh.
How many kids does Rush have?
I never stopped to think that maybe this guy has actually spawned. That's one more nightmare I don't need.
Rush has no children.
And thank you, Rusty.
I'll sleep better tonight
he's impotent.
Those old rumors are true. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
the old Rush gene pool runs shallow and silent.
actually, with the president prohibiting competitive pricing on prescriptions drugs (say 10x fast), and Canadian pharmacies shutting their doors to Americans, $1000 a pill is probably about what these will soon cost...
Since the state can force a store to carry the product, can they regulate the price? I am just curious if Wal Mart could do this very thing and accomplish legally what they had been doing in effect, blocking women from receiving their medication.
Yes, Massachusetts could prohibit what Rush suggests. States have general authority to prohibit price-gouging like Rush would be engaging in if "he were Wal-Mart."
Here in the deep south, there is a requirement of a natural disaster before there can be price gouging. Argument being, the government can't tell business what to do during normal operations.
My choice of the term "price gouging" was a poor one, because it implies some kind of emergency situation. You're correct - a declaration of emergency or natural disaster is usually required to trigger "price gouging" statutes.
However, the type of overpricing Rush suggests would still be prohibited in many (all?) states by either common law or statutory prohibitions on deceptive trade practices (such as state Consumer Protection Acts). States have broad authority to regulate in this area, and most would consider a markup such as Rush is suggesting to be unconscionable because of the enormous disparity between the price and the value. Courts are very protective of consumers in these situations.
Massachusetts has a Consumer Protection Act. One Mass. court had this to say about what kinds of unfair behavior are covered: "Standard for behavior that falls within scope of Massachusetts consumer protection statute prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or practices is notably imprecise, and encompasses any actions that attain a level of rascality that would raise an eyebrow of someone inured to the rough and tumble of the world of commerce, have an extortionate quality that gives it the rancid flavor of unfairness, or fall within at least the penumbra of some common-law, statutory, or other established concept of unfairness."
After a little more rudimentary research, I unearthed the Mass. Attorney General's consumer protection regulations. Those provide that any act or practice violates the state Consumer Protection Act if it "is oppressive or otherwise unconscionable in any respect." I have no doubt that charging $1,000 for a Plan B pill would fall within that prohibition.
So, while the state would not be directly regulating the price, there would be legal safeguards against the kind of unfair pricing that Rush will engage in when he becomes Wal-Mart.
I am all for the pills being available but as a businessman I would hate to have the state tell me what I must sell and then restrict my ability to set my prices. Then again that is why I remain in a business friendly state.
Limp will always be limp. All the chemicals he ingested are still affecting his brain. The only clear vision he has left is focused on money. Money to buy more drugs. He doesnt care what he spews out everyday as long as the money comes in. Look at his buddies, O'lielly,Milken,Coulter,Hannity....The entire fox news. Holy moly! I got it! These people think history will forgive them. Nixon did.
Thing with Limbaugh, his aim is just as bad as Cheney's.....
Limbaugh, you're a loser. Next.