Morning-After Pill on the Rise: 1 in 9 Women Taking Birth Control

It turns out that the morning-after pill may be used more often than we expected. About one in nine women use this form of birth control after sex, according to a government report which is the first of its kind to focus on emergency contraception since its approval 15 years ago.

The report itself surveyed women between the ages of 15 and 44 and found that about eleven percent of those who had sex reported using the morning-after pill--a drastic increase from the four percent in 2002. This would mean that about 5.8 million women have taken the pill. During the study, about half the women who used the pill said that they did so because they had had unprotected sex. The other half cited reasons that ranged from a broken condom to worries that the birth control method that they had used had failed. The study showed that the primary users of these pills were white and usually had a higher education.

The morning-after pill is essentially a high-dose version of birth control pills. It prevents ovulation and needs to be taken a few days after sex in order to be effective. It's also different from the "abortion pill," which is designed to terminate a pregnancy. Currently, at least five different versions of this pill are sold in the U.S. and cost around $35 to $65 per dose at a pharmacy.

So why are more women using the pill? The increased popularity is probably due to the fact that it's easier to get and because of the media covering controversial efforts to lift the age limit for over-the-counter sales--a prescription is still needed for those younger than 17 so it is still sold behind pharmacy counters. Even so, it's far easier for women to get the pill, despite being behind the counter. One Pennsylvania college even has a vending machine that dispenses the pills. A few years ago, in contrast, even older women had to receive a prescription.

This report shows that emergency contraception is on the rise. Whether or not this trend continues, though, is another question entirely.