The morning after Back Up Your Birth Control Day, that is. Ack, we missed it! But not to fear. Just like you can take emergency contraception the day after unprotected or less-than-ideally-protected sex (and in fact, up to five days later -- though it's most effective within 24 hours) you can back up your birth control today.
If you're 18 or over, visit your local pharmacy and pick up some Plan B. You'll have to show ID, but you should just be able to get it over the counter, right then and there. It's probably gonna cost about $40 or so. If that's more than you can afford at the moment, or if you're under 18, you can reach a free or low-cost EC provider by stopping by a Planned Parenthood or calling 1-888-NOT-2-LATE. (Here's more info on how to get EC.)
I know it can be weird to go ask a pharmacist for emergency contraception when you're not in an emergency situation. Hard to work up the motivation. But because its potential effectiveness decreases the longer you wait to take it, it's best to have some Plan B on hand. What if it's a weekend and your local pharmacy is closed? Or what if a friend needs it, and you're able to come through for her in a stressful moment? And think of how nice it will be to be spared the errand of rushing off to the pharmacy (because, even in the big city, you never know if you're gonna get a judgy pharmacist) if you're ever in a panicked moment when you actually need EC.
If you've already got some EC on hand, you can still celebrate the morning after Back Up Your Birth Control Day by spreading the word. Here are some talking points (PDF) on EC access. I'd add a special election-year talking point to the list, pointing out that John McCain has opposed legislation improving access to emergency contraception.
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There isn't a day that goes by that I'm not thankful that the two times in my life I needed EC, I could get it. While I respect the idea that -a- pharmasist can object to it, just as a doctor has that right as well, I firmly believe that if one is on duty who won't, there MUST be one on duty who will, period. I can respect someone's objections the second they're willing to respect the choice that women are given.
I was 18 and made a bad decision at a party, then 21 and at the losing end of someone else's. In one case it had been my hands, and stayed there, in the other it was someone else's attempt to take it from me. I got both ends of the spectrum. I can't imagine a world where in both these Big Deal Moments, I didn't get to make that call.
Thanks for posting on this! The National Women’s Law Center has a number of great resources on emergency contraception (EC). Check out Womenstake.org, the official blog of NWLC, for links to information on the basics of EC and Medicaid coverage for birth control.
I own two packs of EC for the sole purpose of having them on hand in case I run into someone panicked because she can't get ahold of some. If enough people do the same, pharmacies won't be the stopping point, just cost.
I didn't know about this, but I too also keep a spare package around, just in case.
If you have the money and are buying it pre-emptively (i.e., you don't need it immediately because of unprotected sex or condom failure and can therefore wait a few days for it to be shipped to you), Plan B is available at drugstore.com, but it's $49.99.
The upside is that you don't have to deal with a pharmacist who may refuse to dispense it to you, and/or other nosy customers who want to know what you're buying.
HOLY CRAP, I know I'm going to sound incredibly uninformed, but when did EC become OTC?
I guess I haven't been having sex for a while...
And it is OTC in all states?
Wikipedia, here I come...
I read this and immediately thought, oh man I have to buy some of that. Then I remembered that I can't take birth control pills of any kind, due to my messed up metabolism. Even with ordinary medication I have to take child-size portions or risk projectile vomiting - and I'm in my 30s and nearly six feet tall. So basically, thank god for condoms. But I am definately going to call up my sister and recommend that she stores up a few doses of this. Any idea about expiration dates?
August 24, 2006, the FDA approved OTC access for 18+ consumers.
Yup, it has been a while.
I just remembered my long-forgotten, one-and-only EC encounter.
When I was in high school, long before it became OTC, a friend of mine had a condom break. We were 16 or 17. We were in school, and she had to go to work at her grocery store job right afterwards, leaving no time to make a doctor's appointment. She asked several girls if they would go to the doctor and get EC for her. I don't know if they had other commitments, or they were already on birth control from the health department, but she wound up finally asking me. I really, really didn't want to. We weren't that close, and I didn't want anyone in our small town seeing me going to the legendary "health clinic," which was pretty much code for "house of whores" in the rural area. She was so desperate, though, so i went. I went through the appointment and made up a sexual encounter, and walked out with the EC. The friend, who I no longer know, was so grateful.
I'm so glad that girls don't have to do that anymore. At the same time, a high school girl - like my friend - is still in the same situation.
As far as a pharmacists right to refuse - I call that bullcrap. It's their JOB. I'm an instructor. I have students who say racist, sexist remarks and who make me uncomfortable, but I agreed to teach them, so I do. In becoming a pharmacist, you agree to distribute medication to people. When I have a student that I think is morally reprehensible but who has high scores, I dose out their A or B.
I think every woman needs to know about EC and have access to it. Im glad i was able to get it two years ago, though i had to pull money with friends to pay the $80 my local planned parenthood charged, not sure why it seems to be cheaper now though i hope that makes it easier for woman to get it.
I think every woman needs to know about EC and have access to it. Im glad i was able to get it two years ago, though i had to pull money with friends to pay the $80 my local planned parenthood charged, not sure why it seems to be cheaper now though i hope that makes it easier for woman to get it.
I second the request for expiration dates. How long can you keep it in your cabinet before it might start to lose effectiveness? You definitely don't want to be in a situation where you've taken the EC but are left wondering whether it's going to work since you bought it a year ago....
the expiration date on my box is 12/10
I just got it today actually after reading this. I've been meaning to do it for a while, but keep forgetting.
The woman who gave it to me was perfectly friendly, and asked if I was over 17, but didn't ask for an ID.
I feel a lot better now that I have it. I'm also very good about keeping condoms around, even in different sizes. Needless to say, there is no way I'm having a baby anytime soon.
Regular contraceptive pills can actually be used as EC. Eg, if you use a levenorgestrel pill (this is what I use, called Levlen in Australia), it has 0.15mg of levonorgestrel. Plan B is 1.5mg of levonorgestrel. Just take 10 regular pills. There used to be a website with all the different brands of pills and how many you should take, but I don't know if it still exists. Its handy to know this though (& just check wikipedia to work out the number of mg)