Emergency Contraception Fills in Massachusetts Spiked After This Policy Change

Published on 8.14.2024 by Elizabeth Nolan Brown on Reason

Between August 2022 and October 2023, the number of people filling emergency contraception prescriptions in Massachusetts spiked. Was the state experiencing an epidemic of unprotected sex? Probably not. Researchers attribute the increase to the state making it easier for pharmacists to dispense the emergency contraceptives ulipristal (sold under the brand name Ella) and levonorgestrel (sold as Plan B), thereby making it easier for women to walk into a pharmacy and quickly walk out with the medication. “Emergency contraceptives are key in preventing pregnancy after unprotected sexual intercourse and contraceptive failure,” note Dima M. Qato, PharmD, Jenny Guadamuz, and Rebecca Myerson in a research letter published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).