Walmart and Other Stores Are Placing a Purchase Limit on This Controversial Item

Walmart, as well as other retailers like CVS and Rite Aid, are limiting the number of purchases for a controversial item in an attempt to ration its stock. America's largest grocery chain is also seeing a low supply.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 24th to overturn Roe v. Wade, thus ending the constitutional right to abortion. As concerns grow around future access to women's reproductive healthcare in the wake of this landmark decision, over-the-counter emergency contraceptive pills like Plan B are facing increasingly high demand and low supply nationwide.

Through the CVS website–which sells Plan B One-Step and an AFTERA brand option–purchasers are now restricted to just three pills per order. A CVS spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal that the company has plenty of the products on hand and the decision to limit availability was instead made in order to "ensure equitable access". Rite Aid also has a max quantity of three pills in place for its own selection of brands.

Walmart additionally sells Plan B One-Step along with several other lower-cost alternatives. According to the Wall Street Journal, limits of either four or six were seen online for any pills available before the end of June. However, other options which could be received by early July did not appear to be capped.

While other stores do not currently have any regulations in place for emergency contraceptives, there have been other indications that they too are struggling to fulfill the sudden influx of purchases.

Kroger's website has warnings listed on its product pages that pills such as Plan B or Take Action brand are in 'low stock', 'out of stock', or some are now limited to 'delivery only'. While Amazon has a wide range of options, many are not eligible for delivery until at least mid-July. And, at Walgreens, delivery is currently not an option for any morning after pills, although they can still be bought in stores and through pickup.