Cashier at a Wisconsin Walgreens refuses to sell condoms to couple because of his faith, another incident in wake of Roe v. Wade ruling
A Hayward Walgreens cashier refused to sell condoms to a couple on religious grounds. Walgreens says their employee did not violate company policy.
One of the customers who was denied the sale, Nate Pentz, said on Twitter that it happened earlier this month. The incident comes at a time when Walgreens has responded to a number of complaints of employees refusing birth control sales, in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.
Pentz described the situation in a series of tweets, saying his girlfriend, Jess, left her birth control at home so they decided to buy condoms. When Jess was checking out, a cashier told her he couldn't sell her the condoms. "I won't because of my faith," the cashier said.
Pentz went on to file a complaint with Walgreens, stating that the cashier went on to "embarrass me in front of other customers for my reproductive choices."
Jess and the cashier had an argument, Pentz said, at which point the cashier asked if she would like a manager to complete the transaction.
In a statement, a Walgreens spokesperson said the employee did nothing wrong.
"Instances like this are very rare and our policies are designed to ensure we meet the needs of our patients and customers while respecting the religious and moral beliefs of our team members. In the instance a team member has a religious belief that prevents them from meeting a customer need, we require them to refer the customer to another employee or manager on duty who can complete the transaction," the spokesperson said.
Some call for a Walgreens boycott as more denial of birth control sales come to light.
Incidents of faith-based objections are not new for Walgreens since the court removed a federally protected right to a legalized abortion. Some customers are calling for a Walgreens boycott after a couple of incidents, including Pentz's, went viral.
TikTok user Abigail Martin said a Walgreens pharmacist refused to refill her birth control prescription. It's unclear where Martin lives.
In a recent TikTok, Martin said the woman at the pharmacy, who she said was wearing two crosses around her neck, looked Martin up and down before saying she couldn't refill the prescription.
"I said, 'You won't refill it or you can't refill it?' And she goes, 'You just need to call your provider,'" Martin said.
Martin went on to check with her provider and they said everything was correct on their end. After a four-day delay on her prescription, Martin said she called Walgreens again and had her prescription filled.
Walgreens responded to multiple tweets saying company policy “allows pharmacists to step away from filling a prescription for which they have a moral objection.”
“At the same time, they are also required to refer the prescription to another pharmacist or manager on duty to meet the patient’s needs in a timely manner,” the tweet said.
USA Today contributed to this article.
Contact Drake Bentley at (414) 391-5647 or DBentley1@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @DrakeBentleyMJS.
Our subscribers make this reporting possible. Please consider supporting local journalism by subscribing to the Journal Sentinel at jsonline.com/deal.
DOWNLOAD THE APP: Get the latest news, sports and more
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Cashier at a Wisconsin Walgreens refuses to sell condoms to couple
