Two years ago, on February 14, 2001, the Center for Reproductive Rights petitioned the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on behalf of seventy-six organizations to switch the status of emergency contraception (EC) from prescription to over-the-counter. To date, the FDA has not issued a decision, and the prescription limitation continues to harm women's health.
"Almost 6 million women, including rape and incest survivors, have experienced unintended pregnancies since the petition was first submitted to the FDA," said Bonnie Scott Jones, the staff attorney with the Center for Reproductive Rights who filed the petition with the FDA. "7,400 unintended pregnancies occur everyday, and up to half of these could be prevented if women had ready access to emergency contraception," added Jones.
The health advocates who have petitioned the FDA, including the American Public Health Association, recognize unintended pregnancy as a public health crisis that could be averted if EC were readily available. Yet, until the FDA makes EC available over-the-counter, a doctor’s prescription is required to obtain EC in most states. Because EC is most effective in preventing pregnancy when taken within 72 hours of intercourse, difficulty accessing doctors within this short time frame prevents many women from using this safe and effective form of birth control.
Emergency contraceptive pills contain the same ingredients as ordinary birth control pills. The Center for Reproductive Rights and the health organization petitioners provided the FDA with medical evidence demonstrating that EC is safe and effective for over-the-counter distribution.
Despite this easy solution to one of society’s most pressing public health crises, the Bush Administration has failed to act on the Petition. As a result, until the FDA acts, some states are taking matters into their own hands. Since 1998, Washington, California and Alaska have enacted measures allowing women to obtain EC from a pharmacist without a visit to her doctor.
In 2001, Illinois became the first state to enact a law that requires hospitals to provide sexual assault survivors with medically accurate written and oral information. In 2002, Washington and California passed laws requiring hospital ERs to provide rape survivors with information about EC and to dispense it upon request. As of January 2003, six states – Massachusetts, Minnesota, Hawaii, New Hampshire, New York, and West Virginia – have introduced bills that require emergency rooms to provide EC to sexual assault victims. Five additional states have introduced bills that require health care professionals to provide EC to each sexual assault victim who requests it. Other states, such as West Virginia and Hawaii, have introduced measures to create EC awareness campaigns.
Two federal bills – the "Emergency Contraception Education Act" and "Emergency Contraception in the ER" – were introduced in the last congressional session. The first would provide funding to implement public education initiatives about emergency contraception; the second would require hospitals nationwide to provide rape and incest survivors with information about emergency contraception and dispense it upon request. Both bills are expected to be introduced in the 108th Congress
The Center for Reproductive Rights and the seventy-six petitioners urge the Bush Administration to take immediate action to reduce the nearly 3 million unintended pregnancies that occur in the United States every year by making EC available over-the-counter.
A coalition of organizations led by the Reproductive Health Technologies Project has launched an on-going campaign to educate the public about EC. For information on this campaign visit www.backupyourbirthcontrol.org.
