Pharmacy chain Boots have announced that they will be offering a special ‘3 for the price of 2’ discount on the morning after pill, following the beginning of over-the-counter sales of the emergency contraception medicine in their Irish stores this week.
“We’re just trying to offer our customers the best service we can,” said Boots Irish director of PR nonsense Dee O’Derrant.
“If a woman comes in and gets the morning-after pill twice in the same year, then we tell she’s entitled to the next one free, as a thank you for choosing us for her emergency contraception needs.”
O’Derrant denied claims from various right-wing anti-riding groups that the company was promoting promiscuity, saying Boots took steps to try to encourage women who avail of the pill from needing it again.
“We have other special offers for first time pill-takers, including 50% off condoms and a free STD test in St James’, so the 3 for 2 is only a worst case scenario really,” she said.
Irish doctors have expressed outrage that pharmacists will now be able to sell the pill without a prescription.
“It’s a disgrace,” said Galway GP Conn Sulteannt. “How can pharmacists be qualified to dispense the pill unless they’ve charged the women 60 euro for a five minute chat first? That’s an essential part of the process.”
The Catholic Church has, predictably, voiced its opposition to the move, with a spokesman saying that sex was a matter of love between married heterosexuals, or priests and specially groomed children, and should not be ‘cheapened through promotion of promiscuity in pharmacies.’
Public reaction to the change has generally been positive, one young student The Spanner spoke to said: “Well I wasn’t on the pill because I didn’t have a boyfriend but 10 Jaegerbombs later and I was off to the GP so anything that cuts down on costs after a night out has to be a good thing. Taxis and curry chips on top of drinks is already a stretch in a recession.”
The responsible young man she slept with had no comment to make other than: “Jaysis did she need that morning after yoke yeah? Hope she doesn’t sting me for half of it!”