It’s one of the most controversial medical issues: the use of the morning after pill as en emergency contraception method to prevent pregnancy. There is significant opposition to the drug treatment designed as an emergency contraception method, to stop an unintended pregnancy in its tracks.
Now, new research puts the kibosh to one opposing argument which many have used: that emergency contraception will promote unprotected sex, and thus increase the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

Dr. Jaque Mortiz, the Director or Gynecology at Roosevelt Hospital in New York, says, “Politics in terms of a woman’s body has always been a hotbed. We’ve had it in terms of abortions and now we’re having it in terms of emergency contraception.”
There is a concern that the availability of the morning after pill will make unprotected and riskier sex behavior more widespread. In fact, the U.S. Department of Justice issued its first-ever medical guidelines for treating sexual assault victims, without any mention of emergency contraception, the standard precaution against pregnancy after rape. This comes a year after the FDA rejected non-prescription sales of Plan B, the standard form of emergency contraception.
But now, the latest research in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that, in fact, emergency contraception does not create risky behavior.
Dr. Moritz says, “The public was worried that, once they learnt about emergency contraception, young girls were going to go out and have unprotected intercourse. Obviously that’s a bad thing. This study showed this wasn’t the case. That people were actually using it for emergency reasons.”
Emergency contraception is simply a very high dose of birth control pill. It reduces the chance of pregnancy by 75 to 90 percent, but only if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sex. The sooner it’s taken, the more effective it is.
“In my opinion anyone using condoms should have access to emergency contraception through their doctor. They should have the phone number of someone who will prescribe it in a time of emergency,” states Dr. Moritz.
Dr. Moritz is happy about this study which shows access to emergency contraception does not cause people to act irresponsibly. Still, he believes a prejudice exists against women which will limit their access to the medicine.
This may be due to the fact that emergency contraception has been as well equated with abortion. The pill works by preventing fertilization, but there is the possibility it prevents the implantation of a fertilized egg in the uterus wall.
As a result, a 2002 analysis of national emergency room data by the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey found that only 21 percent of sexual assault victims received emergency contraception. And in a 1998 survey of urban catholic hospitals, a University of Pennsylvania study found that 12 out of 27 centers had rules against informing rape victims about emergency contraception methods.
“I’m sure that if there were an emergency contraceptive for a man, who forgot to use a condom and a man could get pregnant, they would want this easily available and available right away,” says Dr. Moritz.

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