ADVOCATES FOR YOUTH

Emergency Contraception—A Critical Option for Preventing Pregnancy—Must Be Available to Teens

Advocates for Youth and Over 60 Other Health and Medical Groups Call on the FDA to Provide Emergency Contraception Over the Counter

WASHINGTON, DC (February 14, 2001) Citing the fact that each year in the United States, 900,000 teens become pregnant, 80 percent unintentionally, James Wagoner, President of Advocates for Youth, today calls on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to "put emergency contraception into the hands of those who need it most—young people."

Advocates for Youth, together with more than 60 other medical groups and women's and child's health advocates, have signed on to a petition from the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy to urge the FDA to change the status of emergency contraception (EC) from prescription to over the counter.

"Young people have the right to protect themselves," said Wagoner. "With the recent decrease in pregnancy rates among teens due to increased use of contraception, putting prescription restrictions on this safe and reliable form of contraception jeopardizes the health and well-being of millions of young people."

Emergency contraception can be used to prevent pregnancy after having unprotected sex or if a method of birth control fails. When taken within three days after unprotected sex, EC can reduce the risk of pregnancy by as much as 94%. Emergency contraception does not terminate an already established pregnancy.

"Emergency contraception has the potential to cut the number of unintended pregnancies in half, but it is most effective when used within 24 hours of unprotected sex," said Wagoner. "Any delay in use, such as the FDA's current prescription requirement, lessens the pill's efficacy and puts young people in serious danger of unwanted pregnancy."

Emergency contraception meets all of the criteria for over the counter availability as described by the FDA. EC has only minor side effects, requires no medical monitoring or screening, and is very simple to administer.

" Most women seeking emergency contraception are less than 25 years old, have never been pregnant, and have used some method of contraception in the past. As public health advocates, it is our responsibility to provide these women with easy access to this critical contraceptive option," concluded Wagoner.

Advocates for Youth is a Washington, DC based national nonprofit organization that creates programs and supports policies that help young people make safe, responsible decisions about their sexual and reproductive health.

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Note to Editors and Producers: For more information or to set up an interview with adolescent sexuality experts, please contact Bill Barker at (202) 419-3420.

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