(WOMENSENEWS)–CheersAll Wal-Mart pharmacies nationwide will stock the emergency contraceptive Plan B, effective March 20, the Bentonville, Ark.-based company announced March 3.Last month, Massachusetts’ Supreme Court ordered Wal-Mart to stock the prescription drug after three Boston women filed a lawsuit against the company. Illinois currently has a law requiring all pharmacies in the state to carry the drug, while in Connecticut and New York pressure is building for similar legislation. Faced with the prospect of pressure from other states, the world’s largest retailer decided to reverse its policy of not stocking the drug, New York’s Daily News reported.”I applaud Wal-Mart for making this decision and realizing the importance of having Plan B readily available,” announced Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., the author of legislation aimed at forcing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to make a ruling on whether to allow Plan B sales without a prescription.Individual Wal-Mart pharmacists who have moral objections to emergency contraception will still be able to turn a customer down, according to the company’s conscientious objection policy, which is based on the guidelines of a national pharmacists’ association.In related news, acting FDA chief Andrew von Eschenbach is expected to be appointed the permanent head by President Bush in the coming weeks, Reuters reported Mar. 10. Von Eschenbach has served as acting commissioner since September 2005, when FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford resigned abruptly.More News to Cheer This Week:The government of the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan is introducing a bill to ban violence against women that it hopes will eventually become a national law, Reuters reported March 9.