Pregnancy tests in supermarkets

FROM today, supermarkets in France are able to sell pregnancy tests, following a change in the law.

A new consumer law came into effect today which allowed the sale of both over-the-counter pregnancy tests and ovulation tests in supermarkets as well as in pharmacies.

Minister for women’s rights Najat Belkacem-Vallaud said that the decision would allow women easier access to the tests and would lower prices.

One of the country’s best-known supermarkets, Leclerc, acted quickly. CEO Michel-Edouard Leclerc said that the business would sell pregnancy tests for as little as €1.

Pharmacists, however, condemned the move as a “disservice to women”. They argued that the instruction sheets in such tests do not replace the personal and professional support offered by qualified pharmacists, “especially when it comes to young women in distress or women in precarious situations”.

Photo: Johannes Jander