You had unprotected sex. The condom broke. Or you were a victim of sexual assault.
If this were to happen to you, your natural instinct might be to go into panic mode about the possibility of unintended pregnancy. But that doesn’t have to be the case — not if you back up your birth control, by keeping an advance supply of emergency contraception on hand.
Often referred to as “morning-after pills,” emergency contraception (EC) pills are medications that include higher doses of certain regular birth control pills that can reduce a woman’s chance of becoming pregnant by up to 90 percent. EC pills reduce the risk of pregnancy if started within 120 hours, but are most effective if started within 72 hours. They have been available for more than 25 years, but many young people still aren’t clear about what they are or how to get them. To address this problem, Planned Parenthood affiliates and Vox groups across the country are participating in Back Up Your Birth Control, a public education campaign to raise awareness about this safe backup method of birth control. The campaign educates the public about EC and encourages women to keep EC in their medicine cabinets, so they have it when they need it.
EC pills protect against pregnancy after intercourse by stopping ovulation, or sometimes, fertilization. Some scientists think that EC pills may also prevent pregnancy by stopping implantation, but a recent study suggests that EC pills have no effect on implantation.
EC does not affect an existing pregnancy and will not cause an abortion. (EC is not the same as mifepristone, formerly known as RU-486, the FDA-approved drug for ending early pregnancy.) Of course, reducing the risk of unintended pregnancy reduces the need for abortion, and in fact, EC has the potential to prevent approximately 1.7 million unplanned pregnancies and 800,000 abortions each year.
For more information about EC, visit www.plannedparenthood.org/ec. For a medical appointment to receive EC, call 1-800-230-PLAN and you’ll be connected to the Planned Parenthood center nearest you or use the clinic connections button below.
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