New York State Can Prevent Unintended Pregnancies While Saving Money
Statement of Kelli Conlin, Executive Director, NARAL Pro-Choice New York
"Expanding access to emergency contraception (EC) is not only good for women’s health but sound fiscal policy. New York State Comptroller Alan Hevesi has identified substantial savings that public and private payers of health care can obtain if EC is widely accessible and used. Not only will New York see a drastic reduction in unintended pregnancies and abortions, but we will save the state millions of dollars and ensure that a woman can control her reproductive health when an accident happens.
Emergency contraception’s time has come. Emergency contraception is birth control, pure and simple. EC is a back-up birth control method which prevents pregnancy when used up to 120 hours after unprotected intercourse, contraceptive failure or sexual assault. EC pills contain higher dosages of the same hormones found in daily birth control pills and are up to 89% effective. EC is seven times more effective when taken within 24 hours of unprotected intercourse. The sooner a woman can access and take EC, the better.
If women can readily access EC, we can prevent half of the three million unintended pregnancies that occur each year in the United States. In 2000, the use of EC prevented up to 51,000 abortions nationwide – but only 6% of women have ever used this method. Wider access to emergency contraception can reduce the number of unintended pregnancies in New York by half, and thereby also significantly reduce the 160,000 abortions performed each year. So why don’t women have it stowed away in their medicine cabinets?
EC is now available only through a prescription issued by a licensed prescriber. For women who live in rural areas, have no regular health care provider or who lack health insurance, accessing a provider on evenings, weekends or holidays may prove impossible. Equally troubling, a woman surviving a sexual assault may not seek treatment at an emergency room required to offer EC to her. While EC has a 5-day window for effectiveness, the sooner a women takes it, the higher the likelihood that she will prevent an unintended pregnancy. Timely access is key if we are to prevent half of the 244,321 unintended pregnancies estimated in New York in 2000.
There is a petition pending with the federal Food and Drug Administration to make Plan B, one of the dedicated EC products, available without a prescription. Over 70 national organizations, including the American Medical Association and American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, have declared EC safe and effective for women’s use without a prescription.
Until the FDA acts, it is imperative that women have access to this back-up birth control method. In California, Washington, Alaska, New Mexico and Hawaii, women can obtain EC directly from a pharmacist. In Washington State, since EC pharmacy services began in 1998, over 240 pharmacies have provided more than 50,000 EC prescriptions.
New York is poised to become the sixth state to vastly expand access to EC. The New York State Assembly overwhelmingly passed legislation (A.888) which authorizes registered nurses and pharmacists to dispense EC pursuant to a non-patient specific prescription written by a licensed prescriber.
Over 70 organizations throughout New York State have joined forces to expand access to EC. The Emergency Contraception Access Campaign is a coalition of public health advocates, medical and health professionals and community organizations encouraging widespread access to and knowledge of EC. The campaign has worked tirelessly over the last two years to educate health care providers, legislators and the public about the benefits of expanded EC access through pharmacies.
On behalf of NARAL Pro-Choice New York and the Emergency Contraception Access Campaign, I commend the Comptroller for undertaking this historic report – one that should convince the Senate to act on legislation that promises to expand access to birth control for women while significantly reducing costs during our ongoing fiscal crisis.
Emergency contraception is often referred to as "the best-kept secret" in reproductive health care – we hope that the Comptroller’s report will bring EC out of the shadows and into the hands of women in New York who need it."
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For more information, contact Robert Jaffe or Destiny Lopez at (212) 343-0114.
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