Man sues pharmacy for not allowing him to buy Plan B

JERSEY CITY, New Jersey (WABC) -- A New Jersey man claims a pharmacy refused to sell him Plan B and now, he's taking that pharmacy to court.

"I was thinking if this guy doesn't sell me this pill then I'm going to have a bigger problem than I already have," said Andrew Andrade.

Andrade says he desperately needed emergency contraception and his girlfriend couldn't pick it up because she was at work.

So he went to a Jersey City Rite Aid on Central Avenue to get the pill.

"I was a little upset. I said let me speak to the manager. Maybe the manager knows a little bit more about this. They introduced me to the pharmacy manager and he said I cannot sell the pill to you because I was a male," he said.

Andrade went to a nearby pharmacy where he was able to buy Plan B after showing identification verifying his age.

Long time customers of the Rite Aid say they're surprised this could happen here.

"I think it's discrimination...I think that's wrong. Everyone should have the right to buy it," said Carla Melendez.

A Rite Aid spokesperson says their policy is that anybody 17 and over, male and female can buy emergency contraception from their stores.

The company got a letter from the American Civil Liberties Union this morning and started an investigation in response.

"The perfect outcome would be that the pharmacy staff is straight so that people do not encounter any obstacles to get emergency contraception it's a time sensitive issue and they shouldn't face any barriers that are unlawful," said ACLU-NJ Deputy Legal Director Jeanne LoCicero.

Mr. Adrade says he and his girlfriend are both over 18 years old.

He says he's not going to sue he just wants better training put in place.

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