Emergency Birth Control - the Emergency Contraception and Morning After Pill Information Site

If you have problems taking regular birth control you should consult your doctor or health care before taking EBC pills, but most women can safely use EBC pills even if they cannot use birth control pills as their regular method of birth control (Van Look & Stewart, 1998; Guillebaud, 1998). However, be sure to inform your doctor or health care provider if you have ever had any of the following problems:

· Blood clots in the deep veins of the your legs (now or in the past)
· Blood clots in the lungs (now or in the past)
· Heart attack (current or history)
· Stroke (current or history)
· Valvular heart disease with complications
· Severe high blood pressure
· Diabetes with blood vessel involvement
· Severe headaches [including classic (complicated) migraine]
· Liver tumors (non-cancerous and cancerous), active liver disease
· Allergic to any components of the product

Also be sure to inform your doctor if you are a smoker.

Anti-choice organizations such as the American Life League, Stop Planned Parenthood International, Human Life International, National Right to Life Committee, and www.morningafterpill.org disseminate misinformation about emergency birth control. These organizations have acted to deliberately misinform women about EBC pills in the following ways:

· They falsely claim that EBC pills are abortifacients, and have helped create and sustain - the false notion that EBC pills are the same as the RU-486 abortion pill.
· They specifically attack EBC pills with claims that they do not prevent implantation of ---- fertilized eggs when the same claims can be made against regular birth control pills and - dozens of other prescription drugs prescribed to millions each year.
· They falsely claim that testing has not been done to confirm the safety of EBC pills.
· They underreport the effectiveness of EBC pills.
· They dismiss evidence of decreased side effects of progestin-only EBC pills such as ----- 'Plan B'.

These organizations argue that because EBC pills can sometimes prevent pregnancy by inhibiting implantation of a fertilized egg in the uterus rather than by inhibiting fertilization itself, they therefore don't always prevent conception. While this is true of EBC pills, it is also true of regular birth control pills as well: EBC pills contain the same drugs and take the same biological action as regular birth control pills. It therefore seems odd that these organizations do not claim that regular birth control pills are abortifacients, and instead only attack EBC pills. After all, EBC pills and regular birth control pills contain exactly the same hormones and work in exactly the same manner.

Medical science defines the start of pregnancy as the implantation of a fertilized egg in the uterus. EBC pills and regular birth control pills work before implantation and not after a woman is already pregnant. Furthermore, they overwhelmingly work by suppressing ovulation and preventing fertilization (Pinsky, 1999). The possibility that they may prevent implantation at all is disputed by the medical community and therefore remains theoretical at this time. Regardless, since abortion can only occur after pregnancy has already begun, EBC pills and regular pills cannot cause an abortion. When a woman is already pregnant, EBC pills will not work. Emergency contraception is also harmless to the fetus and the mother.

Widespread use of EBC could prevent up to 1.7 million unwanted pregnancies and 800,000 abortions each year in the United States! It is difficult to understand why organizations such as the American Life League are opposed to reproductive technology that is so clearly in line with their own goals.

So why do these organizations condemn EBC pills and not regular birth control? The answer is not clear. Some members of these organizations don't believe in using any kind of birth control. Some members believe that pre-marital sex is immoral and unethical on the religious grounds that it is evil and sinful, and that EBC pills are therefore also evil and sinful because they allow a woman to 'get away' with having pre-marital sex when she should be punished for it instead. Some members believe that EBC pills will allow women to act irresponsibly, when in fact studies have shown precisely the opposite: women are much more likely to start using a reliable means of birth control after using EBC pills than to continue having unprotected sex and use EBC pills again.

Unfortunately, it seems as though the goal of many of the members of the organizations is not so much to preserve life by preventing abortion as it is to judge, condemn, and punish women who don't share their beliefs. In the free world, any attempt to impose one's own beliefs, or morals and ethics deduced from those beliefs, upon others is an assault. In the United States, attempting to do so through anti-choice legislation is a violation of our First Amendment rights to freedom of religion. No one has the right to place judgment upon the religious beliefs of others, and many women do not share the religious belief that life begins at or is sacred from the moment of fertilization. Medical science, being the only ethical basis upon which the reproductive health laws of a free country can be established, clearly supports a woman's right to choose what happens to her body.

It is a mistake to have unprotected sex because of the risk of unintended pregnancy. But it is more important for people to take responsibility for their mistakes and learn from them than to be condemned and punished for them.

EBC pills empower women by allowing them to take responsibility for the mistake of having unprotected sex, and thereby learn not to make the same mistake again.

No. Studies have shown that women are much more likely to start using a reliable means of birth control after using EBC pills than to continue having unprotected sex and use EBC pills again due to their greater cost and side effects. EBC pills empower women by giving them the option to take responsibility for the mistake of having unprotected sex, and then to avoid making that same mistake again in the future.

No. Insertion of an IUD (intrauterine device) as a means of emergency birth control can prevent pregnancy up to 5 days after having unprotected sex, and it is over 99% effective. However, EBC IUDs are more expensive and less safe than EBC pills, and are generally not recommended for women who intend to have children in the future because of the risks of auto-immune responses and infections which can lead to pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and infertility.

For more information about which emergency birth control option is best for your situation, call your doctor or 1-888-NOT-2-LATE for more information. You can speak to an adviser by calling Planned Parenthood at 1-800-230-PLAN.

To find out where where you and your partner can get tested in your area, talk to your doctor or healthcare provider, or call Planned Parenthood at 1-800-230-PLAN.

STD testing is smart, safe, completely anonymous, and usually free.

The Rape Treatment Center at the Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center recommends taking the following steps if you have been raped:

Go to a safe place.

If you want to report the crime, notify the police immediately. Reporting the crime can help you regain a sense of personal power and control and can also help to ensure the safety of other potential victims.

Call a friend, a family member, or someone else you trust and ask her or him to stay with you.

Preserve all physical evidence of the assault. Do not shower, bathe, douche, or brush your teeth. Save all of the clothing you were wearing at the time of the assault. Place each item of clothing in a separate paper bag. Do not use plastic bags. Do not disturb anything in the area where the assault occurred.

Go to a hospital emergency department or a specialized forensic clinic that provides medical care for sexual assault victims. Even if you think that you do not have any physical injuries, you should still have a medical examination and discuss with a health care provider the risk of exposure to sexually transmitted diseases and the possibility of pregnancy resulting from the sexual assault. Call RAINN at 1-800-656-HOPE to find a rape treatment center in your area.

If you suspect that you may have been given a rape drug, ask the hospital or clinic where you receive medical care to take a urine sample. Rape drugs, such as Rohypnol and GHB, are more likely to be detected in urine than in blood.

Write down as much as you can remember about the circumstances of the assault, including a description of the assailant.

Talk with a counselor who is trained to assist rape victims about the emotional and physical impacts of the assault. You can contact RAINN at 1-800-656-HOPE, a rape crisis center, or a counseling agency to find someone who understands the trauma of rape and knows how to help.

If you want information about legal issues, medical care, or other concerns related to the assault, a rape treatment center or a rape hotline can assist you. You can call RAINN at 1-800-656-HOPE to find a rape crisis center in your area.