Humboldt State University's Vox Club
Humboldt State University's Vox Club
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Condom Tally
7542 # given out since August 2002: 231 # given out Fall 2005 |
Emergency Contraception Awareness Campaign Read the introduction to the 20 page research & campaign development project we developed: 24 April 2000 Jeanie C. Emergency Contraception Awareness Campaign Emergency contraception, a drug that prevents pregnancy if taken within 72 hours of unprotected sexual intercourse, is an underutilized resource in the United States. The reason for this is two-fold: first, women who are most likely to need to prevent unplanned pregnancy are not aware of this emergency method; second, clinicians do not routinely discuss this option with their patients and rarely prescribe this type of contraception. It is important for women to have access to postcoital contraception. Emergency contraception is legal, safe, effective, and cost-efficient. Planned Parenthood policy states, “…every woman should have emergency contraception in her medicine chest—just in case.” The California Department of Health Services Office of Family Planning newsletter states, “It is every woman’s right to know about Emergency Contraception and every provider’s responsibility to tell clients about the option. Reproductive health experts advocate providing this emergency method pro-actively so that when a client needs Emergency Contraception she has it readily available.” If a condom breaks, a woman forgets to take more than two birth control pills, if she is raped, or for any other reason a woman has unprotected intercourse, she can take emergency contraception. If treatment is initiated within 24 hours, she can increase her chances of avoiding pregnancy by 95%; if initiated within 72 hours efficacy rates are 75%; rates after 72 hours are uncertain (Hatcher 281, 287). It is clear that women need to know about emergency contraception before the need arises. I will discuss the benefits of emergency contraception, the problems with underutilization of this resource, and finally, offer suggestions to increase emergency contraception awareness.Learn about Planned Parenthood's current EC campaign at: www.plannedparenthood.org/ec Or, e-mail us at choice@humboldt.edu to learn more about our research project. |
