Online retailer Amazon is limiting how many emergency contraceptives people can buy, joining other retailers who put in place similar caps following the US Supreme Court decision overruling Roe v. Wade.
Amazon’s limit, which temporarily caps purchase of the contraceptives at three units per week, went into effect on Monday, a spokesperson for the e-commerce giant confirmed.
The company did not share details on what emergency contraceptive products were limited for purchase, but a listing showed the cap applied to Plan B, the popular “morning after” pill.
Photo: AFP
A similar policy went into effect on Monday at the US drugstore chain Rite Aid, which has limited the purchase of Plan B pills to three units per customer due to increased demand, a company spokesperson said.
The limit applies to in-store and online purchases.
Emergency contraception is different from abortion pills used to end a pregnancy. Plan B, which can be obtained without a prescription, contains a concentrated dose of the same drug found in many regular birth control pills. If a woman takes Plan B within 72 hours of unprotected sex, she can lower the risk of pregnancy significantly.
Limiting purchases is standard practice that helps retailers prevent stockpiling and reselling at higher prices.
“Retailers are being cautious. They are trying to manage it,” GlobalData Retail managing director Neil Saunders said. “But I don’t think there are chronic shortages.”
Walmart, Amazon’s top competitor, has capped online purchases of Plan B to 10 units, although it is unclear when the purchase limit began. The retailer does not have in-store limits, but managers might make changes to help ensure availability based on the demand.
“Many of our products have online purchase limits in place,” a Walmart spokesperson said. “During times of fluctuating demand, these limits may change.”
CVS Health said that it removed its own caps on emergency contraceptives after it installed a temporary limit following last week’s high court ruling.
The company said that it had been seeking to preserve access to the products following a “sharp increase” in sales, which have since returned to normal levels.
“We continue to have ample supply of emergency contraceptives to meet customer needs,” CVS Health spokesman Matthew Blanchette said.
The pharmacy chain Walgreens is still able to meet demand for in-store purchases and curbside pickup of over-the-counter emergency contraception pills, but spokeswoman Emily Mekstan said that the company is restocking its ship-to-home business, which saw a surge in demand.
CVS Health and Walgreens are the two biggest US drugstore chains. They operate about 19,000 locations combined.
Spokespeople for Target and Kroger said they did not have anything to share on potential limits on contraceptive purchases.
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