EACH YEAR, there are about 3 million unintended pregnancies in the United States -- and about half of them happen to women who are using a regular method of contraception.
Many women experience anxiety after if a condom breaks, she misses a pill or she has sex when she didn't plan to -- or want to.
However, there is another option for women who experience contraceptive failure or unplanned sex -- emergency contraception (EC), sometimes called the "morning-after pill." It's a short, higher dose of the same hormones found in regular birth control pills, and women can get it to have on hand just in case there is an emergency. National Back Up Your Birth Control Day was earlier this week and was part of a campaign to encourage women to have EC in case of contraceptive failure or unwanted or unprotected sex.
Many women still don't know about EC or how to get it. Many don't know they can get it in advance, which is important for women to know about EC.
Why don't more women know about this option? First, some doctors aren't talking about it. Studies have shown that less than one in four obstetricians, gynecologists and family practice physicians discuss EC when they counsel their patients about birth control. Calls to some doctors' offices inquiring about emergency contraception often yield misleading information about it -- for instance, statements like "it's not available here." Worse, when a woman does get a prescription, a pharmacist might refuse to fill it for "moral reasons." And legislation to further restrict access to emergency contraception is still in the works. Just recently, the James Madison University administration prohibited the sale of EC in their student health center (They have since lifted the ban).
It's shocking that we have a back-up birth control method that can reduce the risk of getting pregnant by up to 89 percent and it's so underutilized. In fact, it's been estimated that widespread awareness and use of emergency contraception could prevent as many as half of the unintended pregnancies in the U.S. each year.
The birth control pill and other contraceptive methods such as condoms are readily available, but none are one hundred percent effective. Only abstinence works all the time, but women who choose not to abstain from sex deserve access to all contraceptive options.
Emergency contraception needs to be taken soon after unprotected sex (not more than 120 hours), and the sooner, the better. So, after an incident of unprotected sex, the clock starts ticking. Instead of having to find a doctor, get an appointment, wait for the prescription to be filled -- provided that pharmacy will fill it -- women could already have EC on hand and avoid wasting precious hours trying to get it.
Some people think that making EC more easily available will lead women to be irresponsible or promiscuous even though most women use EC only as a back-up method. Some politicians and anti-choice extremists will stop at nothing to deny women information, education and access to emergency contraception, even women who are survivors of rape or incest. However, EC is safe and effective and reduces the need for abortions. Surely both sides of the political spectrum can support this idea.
The fact is that emergency contraception is birth control, pure and simple. The only radical thing about it is that it's not being used. VOX: Voices for Planned Parenthood is working hard to raise awareness about emergency contraception and make EC more available to students.
VOX encourages all women to get EC. Emergency contraception is the best way to prevent unintended pregnancy in case of rape, incest or contraceptive failure and is part of basic medical care that should be accessible to all women.
Madeleine Wille is a fourth year in the College and a member of the executive board of VOX.
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