Cake

A little background: The American Medical Association defines pregnancy when a fertilized egg implants in the uterus. Emergency contraception prevents ovulation, and fertilization while also changing the environment of the uterus making implantation of a fertilized egg unlikely. If you are already pregnant, and if a fertilized egg is implanted in the uterus using EC will not dislodge or destroy it.

When we want the morning after pill without a prescription, we are met with the accusations of being "promiscuous," "loose" and downright "slutty"! Of course Viagra, erectile dysfunction medication, is available to any man that’s lookin’ for a 12-hour boner. Free samples anyone? What a freaking cliché. Nice double standard, ain't it? Female sexual pleasure, bad, bad, bad. Male sexual appetite, good, good, good.

It’s simple. Failed contraception and lack of access to contraceptive methods like EC equals more unintended pregnancies. As a consequence, there are more abortions. The good news is due to sex education and increased access to contraception, the unintended pregnancy and abortion rates decrease significantly. Emergency contraception, if taken within 24 hours of unprotected sex, has a 95% rate for preventing pregnancy, and if was widely available, would prevent the need for abortion. Widespread availability of the morning after pill will contribute to this decline. Just look at the overwhelming positive effect in France where the morning after pill is widely available - French women have one of the lowest unintended pregnancy rates in the world. (And what industrialized country has one of the highest? You guessed it – the U.S.!)

Pleasure Tip: EC not available to you over the counter in your hometown? If you are a smart savvy girl you know that two doses of the same old birth control that millions of women take every day can be used as emergency contraception. The number of pills per dose depends on the brand, so ask your gynecologist about your pill. Ask your doctor for a prescription for EC in advance leave it lying securely next to your box of condoms.