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.