Anderson v Thrifty White: Defending the Right to Emergency Contraception

In this episode, Erin Hart welcomes Jess Braverman, the legal director at Gender Justice, and Erin Maye Quade, Gender Justice Special Projects Advisor (and rising TikTok star).

The team discusses Anderson v. Thrifty White, a lawsuit filed on behalf of Andrea Anderson, who was denied service when she sought to fill a prescription for emergency contraception. The complaint, filed in Aitkin County District Court in Minnesota’s Ninth Judicial District, argues that Anderson’s experience constitutes illegal discrimination based on sex, and that denying her service based on her pregnancy-related health care needs violates the Minnesota Human Rights Act.

After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade earlier this summer, there has been a rise in pharmacists refusing to dispense contraception and emergency contraception to patients. With more than half of states working to ban access to safe, legal abortion care, access to prescription medications, including contraception, is more important than ever. Gender Justice hopes that a future victory in this case shows that people like our client, and countless others across the country who rely on their local pharmacies for birth control, cannot be discriminated against.

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Visit the "Gender Justice" Website here and "Unrestrict Minnesota" here.

Erin Hart, Communications Director at Gender Justice, is hosting the Gender Justice Brief.

The GJB is produced by Gunther Michael Jahnl of IQONEQ Solutions & Audra Grigus.