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Q
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A
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Coalition
of Labor Union
Women
Emergency
Contraception Fact Sheet |
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Q:
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What
is Emergency Contraception? |
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A:
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Emergency
contraceptive pills, taken as soon as possible within 72 hours
of sexual intercourse, prevent pregnancy by delaying or preventing
ovulation (the release of an egg). The most common emergency
contraception regimen uses progestin and estrogen (levonorgestrel
and ethinyl estradiol), which are the same hormones used in
birth control pills.
Emergency
contraception works the same way birth control pills do to
prevent pregnancy.
However,
emergency contraception should be used responsibly. It is
not a replacement for the use of regular contraception. It
is an important "back-up" method.
Emergency
contraception is not an "abortion pill" and will
not harm an existing pregnancy.
Like
all birth control pills, emergency contraceptive pills do
not protect the user against infection from the HIV virus,
which causes AIDS, or other sexually transmitted diseases. |
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Q:
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Are Emergency
Contraceptive Pills safe? |
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A:
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Yes. The FDA found combined oral contraceptives to be safe
and effective for use as emergency contraception, based primarily
on a meta-analysis of 10 studies with special doses of birth
control pills that showed a favorable safety profile.
The most common side
effects are nausea and/or vomiting.
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Q:
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Why is Emergency
Contraception necessary? |
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A:
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Based on statistics from the 1995 National Survey of Family
Growth published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), there are over 2.7 million unintended pregnancies per
year in the United States, nearly half are due to contraceptive
failure. About 1.35 million unintended pregnancies end in
abortion each year.
Experts at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
estimate that emergency contraceptive pills could prevent
800,000 abortions each year.
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Q:
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How many
unintended pregnancies are there in the U.S.? |
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A:
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• 2.7 million unintended pregnancies
in 1995 (last year for which data is available)
• 47% of unintended pregnancies end
in abortion, 40% in birth and 13% in miscarriage
• 53% of women with unintended pregnancies
were using contraception
• Among those women using contraception,
51% of unintended pregnancies ended in abortion; and 43% of
unintended pregnancies ended in abortion among women who were
not using contraception
• 48% of women 15-44 years old have
had an unintended pregnancy
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What can you do? |
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Get a prescription from your ob/gyn at your annual visit
and keep it in a safe place (that you will remember).
Make sure emergency contraception is specifically covered
in your health plan.
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