Just a little more on Plan B, I promise

I really don't want to linger much on this issue, so I'll just post this item and call it a night.

Women With Easy Access to Emergency Contraception Not More Likely To Engage in Unprotected Sex, Study Says
Wednesday, January 5, 2005


The Kaiser Daily Reproductive Health Report

Women who have ready access to emergency contraception are no more likely to engage in unprotected sex or abandon use of other contraception methods than women who do not have easy access to the pills, according to a study published in the Jan. 5 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, USA Today reports (Rubin, USA Today, 1/5).

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"Our findings were that women don't change their sexual behavior when the drug is easily available, but rather that they're more likely to use it if access is easier," Raine said (Kaufman, Washington Post, 1/5).

No Difference in Pregnancy Rate
Although the researchers had expected that easier access to EC would lower pregnancy rates, the study showed that women had similar pregnancy rates whether they were provided with EC or had to go to a clinic to access the drug, the Washington Times reports. "That was definitely a disappointing finding," Raine said (Wetzstein, Washington Times, 1/5). Raine said that pregnancy rates were the same among the three groups because many women did not always use EC after unprotected sex, according to USA Today. "Very few women used it more than once," Raine said, adding, "They may not think they're going to get pregnant. They may not feel comfortable using it. They may not actually have it at the time they need it." Although some critics of EC have said that women will "come to depend" on the drug if it were more widely available, Raine said that "we're seeing the exact opposite." In an accompanying JAMA editorial, Iris Litt of Stanford University said that it was "significant that no apparent downside of EC was demonstrated."

Seems to me the key word here is "emergency" contraception. As in a "one-time only" need for Plan B. I just don't think it's likely a woman is going to say, "I really want to have sex tonight, but I don't have any contraceptives with me. Oh, well. I'll put out tonight anyway and pick up the "morning after" pill later." It's more like, "Oh, my God, the condom broke," or, worse, the example of a rape victim scrambling to prevent a REALLY unwanted pregnancy.