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Emergency Contraception
Emergencies and accidents happen – even when it comes to your birth control. That's why emergency contraception (EC) is so important. EC is birth control for situations when regular birth control methods fail or are not used, and it works after sex. You may also know it as the "morning-after pill" or by brand names such as Plan B®, Plan B One-Step™, Next Choice®, and ella®. It can be purchased at pharmacies without a prescription by people ages 17 or older.
Emergency contraception has great potential to reduce unintended pregnancies, but it is not used as often as it could be and many women don't know about it. We believe it's critical that more women have accurate information and better access to EC to help prevent pregnancy after contraceptive failure (such as when a condom breaks or a regular birth control pill is missed), or in cases of sexual assault. However, many anti-choice groups and politicians are opposed to emergency contraception. They keep working to make it hard to obtain, and they often spread misinformation about what EC is and what its availability means for women.
Educate yourself, share information, and join NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia in working to support public policies that make EC available to all women who need it. Here are the facts:
NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia's Emergency Contraception Access Investigation
NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia advocates for policies that make emergency contraception easier to obtain for women who need it, such as ensuring that emergency rooms offer EC to survivors of sexual assault and making EC available and affordable for low-income women. We also work to educate women about their rights in obtaining EC and to ensure that current policies are understood and being followed by medical professionals such as pharmacists.
During summer 2010, NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia volunteers, interns and staff called almost 700 pharmacies throughout Virginia to see if they had EC in stock and if they were knowledgeable about how it works and who can legally obtain it. Color us surprised when we learned not every pharmacy stocked emergency contraception... or even provided medically-accurate information about EC when asked! (Read more about our calling investigation in a blog post here.) Other studies by medical researchers have had similar findings: pharmacy customers, especially adolescents, are getting inaccurate information about emergency contraception far more often than they should.
The lesson we learned is that it is always best to call ahead to make sure a pharmacy has emergency contraception in stock and that someone working will sell it to you. (If your local pharmacy doesn't sell EC, ask them why and encourage them to make it available!) It's also important to understand the facts yourself about EC and be confident about your rights in obtaining it.
We put together this handy map with the results of our study. Please note that each pharmacy was only called once, so we can not know for sure what employees at other times would say or how their policies may have changed. If you have updated information or your own experiences with the pharmacies on the map, or ones that we have not included, please contact us at info@naralva.org!
Emergency contraception has great potential to reduce unintended pregnancies, but it is not used as often as it could be and many women don't know about it. We believe it's critical that more women have accurate information and better access to EC to help prevent pregnancy after contraceptive failure (such as when a condom breaks or a regular birth control pill is missed), or in cases of sexual assault. However, many anti-choice groups and politicians are opposed to emergency contraception. They keep working to make it hard to obtain, and they often spread misinformation about what EC is and what its availability means for women.
Educate yourself, share information, and join NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia in working to support public policies that make EC available to all women who need it. Here are the facts:
- Emergency contraception works by preventing ovulation or fertilization, reducing the chances of becoming pregnant. If you are already pregnant, taking EC will not affect the pregnancy or the embryo's development. It is a back-up method and not a replacement for regular, proper usage of primary contraception methods.
- EC brands like Plan B®, Plan B One-Step™, and Next Choice® contain a higher dose of nearly the same ingredients as daily birth control pills. (ella® is slightly different, and is only available by prescription.)
- It is not an "abortion pill" or the same thing as a medical abortion (mifepristone/RU-486). Many anti-choice groups often lie about how EC works and intentionally try to confuse it with medical abortion. This has led to misunderstanding among some women, and even among some medical professionals. Get the facts on the distinctions and how these different medications work (via the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals), and share this knowledge.
- EC has a better chance of preventing pregnancy the sooner you take it after unprotected sex. However, you can take it up to three to five days afterward, depending on which kind you are using.
- You can buy most kinds of EC without a prescription ("over-the-counter") at a pharmacy if you are 17 or older and show proof of age. That goes for men 17 or older too, who can be the ones to purchase the medication for a wife, girlfriend or friend.
NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia's Emergency Contraception Access Investigation
NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia advocates for policies that make emergency contraception easier to obtain for women who need it, such as ensuring that emergency rooms offer EC to survivors of sexual assault and making EC available and affordable for low-income women. We also work to educate women about their rights in obtaining EC and to ensure that current policies are understood and being followed by medical professionals such as pharmacists.
During summer 2010, NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia volunteers, interns and staff called almost 700 pharmacies throughout Virginia to see if they had EC in stock and if they were knowledgeable about how it works and who can legally obtain it. Color us surprised when we learned not every pharmacy stocked emergency contraception... or even provided medically-accurate information about EC when asked! (Read more about our calling investigation in a blog post here.) Other studies by medical researchers have had similar findings: pharmacy customers, especially adolescents, are getting inaccurate information about emergency contraception far more often than they should.
The lesson we learned is that it is always best to call ahead to make sure a pharmacy has emergency contraception in stock and that someone working will sell it to you. (If your local pharmacy doesn't sell EC, ask them why and encourage them to make it available!) It's also important to understand the facts yourself about EC and be confident about your rights in obtaining it.
We put together this handy map with the results of our study. Please note that each pharmacy was only called once, so we can not know for sure what employees at other times would say or how their policies may have changed. If you have updated information or your own experiences with the pharmacies on the map, or ones that we have not included, please contact us at info@naralva.org!
Some online resources about Emergency Contraception:
- NARAL Pro-Choice America fact sheet on emergency contraception access and policy [pdf]
- NARAL Pro-Choice America information on difference between EC and medical abortion [pdf]
- Association of Reproductive Health Professionals, "Clinician Fact Sheet: The Difference Between Medical Abortion and Emergency Contraceptive Pills"
- "Back Up Your Birth Control" from the National Institute for Reproductive Health
- Emergency Contraception information page from Planned Parenthood Federation of America
- Kaiser Family Foundation Emergency Contraception Fact Sheet [pdf]
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