This is starting to tick me off. Too many parents are not taking advantage of the Gardasil vaccine — which prevents cancer. CANCER. Come on, people. Seriously. (Yahoo Health)- Hopefully people aren’t avoiding vaccinating their children with Gardasil due to “promiscuity” worries. ’Cause that’s been thoroughly debunked! (Slate Double X)
- Despite the gross miscarriage of justice that was Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, the Obama Administration is actually kicking butt in the fight for contraception coverage. (Think Progress)
- Oh look, Arizona Republicans are trying to pass new and horrible abortion legislation! There’s something you don’t see every day. #Sarcasm (Tucson Weekly)
- Could the future of birth control possibly include a pill that would allow men to have “dry” (fluid free) orgasms????? No babies and no fretting over that dastardly “wet spot” on your 800 thread count sheets! Dreams really might come true after all. (The Atlantic)
- Ever think about the temperature of the place you store condoms and other birth control? If not, it’s probably a good idea to start! #BetterSafeThanSorry (Bustle)
- So, we’ve all heard of ISIS, right? Vast Islamist extremist terrorist organization that kidnaps and tortures and beheads people, rapes and sexually enslaves women, and commits mass executions and promotes unspeakable horror and terror everywhere they infiltrate? Well, a Republican in South Dakota says Planned Parenthood is like … way worse. (Slate Double X)
- If you have health insurance and are still paying for your birth control, you need to read this! (Time)
Tag Archives: Obama Administration
Let’s Talk Contraception: Emergency Contraception
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently reported that 1 in 9 American women — 11 percent — has used the “morning-after pill.” This means that in the United States, 5.8 million sexually active women between the ages of 15 and 44 have used emergency contraception, an increase in use of 4.2 percent from 2002. Most women say their reasons for using emergency contraception are because they engaged in unprotected sex or feared that their method of contraception failed.
The best way to prevent pregnancy is reliable birth control. But sometimes we need a back-up method.
It has also been reported that half of all pregnancies in the United States are unintended. For that reason, the availability of a range of contraceptive options is very important. Emergency contraception is the last choice for a woman to decrease her chance of becoming pregnant after unprotected sex. There are several products available for emergency contraception in the United States. There are many options, and they include:
- regular birth control pills in specific doses
- PlanB One-step
- Next Choice
- ella
- copper IUD or intrauterine device (Paragard)
The Yuzpe regimen, which used ordinary birth control pills in specific combinations, was named after a Canadian physician who developed the method in the 1970s. Several brands of birth control pills are approved for this use to prevent pregnancy. This method uses the combined estrogen and progesterone hormones in your regular birth control pills in certain prescribed combinations.
Research showed the progesterone component of contraceptive pills was most effective at preventing pregnancy, so Plan B was developed as a two-pill regimen of levonorgestrel (a type of progesterone). When Plan B was first released, it consisted of one pill taken as soon as possible and another taken 12 hours later. Plan B One-Step, the newest version of Plan B, now has the same dosage of levonorgestrel in just one pill. It should be taken as soon as possible after unprotected sex. This one-dose regimen has been shown to be more effective with fewer side effects. Continue reading
That Was Then, This Is Now: A History of Emergency Contraception
The following guest post comes to us via Morganne Rosenhaus, community engagement coordinator for Planned Parenthood Arizona.
For more than 10 years, emergency contraception has been the “poster child” for what it looks like when politics trumps science, again and again and again. Women’s health advocates, women’s health care providers, and researchers have argued for years (and two different presidential administrations) about the safety of emergency contraception and the importance of its place on the shelf, between the pregnancy tests and the condoms.
The age restrictions on emergency contraception have been in flux. Where do things currently stand?
In 1999, Plan B was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a prescription-only product (all new drugs are first approved as prescription-only). In 2003, the manufacturer of Plan B filed an application with the FDA to make it available over-the-counter (OTC). An FDA Advisory panel voted to recommend Plan B for OTC access with no age restriction. Then political turmoil ensued. You can read all the details here in this handy timeline.
In 2006, Plan B was approved for OTC access, but with an age restriction, which meant men and women 18 years and older could purchase Plan B at the pharmacy, but only with an ID providing proof of age. The Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) filed a lawsuit against the FDA over the ridiculousness of placing a scientifically unfounded age restriction on emergency contraception, which eventually led to the lowering of the restriction to 17 years. The FDA was also asked to re-review their rationale for imposing an age restriction in the first place.
Then things got worse. Let’s fast forward to 2011. Continue reading