MEDICATIONS: ACOG SUPPORTS SAFETY AND AVAILABILITY OF OVER-THE-COUNTER EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION

February 28, 2001 – The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has issued new and revised documents on the safety and availability of emergency oral contraception (EC). ACOG says the fallback contraceptive method – a regimen of oral contraceptives that must be taken within 72 hours after unprotected intercourse – has the potential to reduce by half the 3 million unintended pregnancies occurring each year in the United States.

ACOG supports making EC available to women over the counter in a designated (prepackaged) product, according to its recent Statement Supporting the Availability of Over-the-Counter Emergency Contraception. "The time has come for women to have access to a product that they need," reports ACOG, referring to the ongoing barriers to women's access to the drug. Citing the FDA's declaration that EC is safe and effective in preventing pregnancy, ACOG believes "emergency oral contraception can meet the FDA criteria for over-the-counter availability."

In Emergency Oral Contraception, a revised Practice Bulletin issued today, ACOG has updated its recommendations to physicians regarding the safety and efficacy of prescription EC. ACOG provides charts on how to combine common prescription oral contraceptives in dosages that provide EC and has now added information on two EC designated products, Preven and Plan B.

In another effort to increase women's access to EC, ACOG notes that during routine gynecologic visits, physicians may wish to offer patients an advance prescription for EC, for use in any future emergency. EC should be taken within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse but may provide the greatest efficacy if taken within 24 hours, says ACOG.

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