News

WHO has released new guidelines on priority actions needed to ensure that different human rights dimensions are systematically and clearly integrated into the provision of contraceptive information and services. Regarding EC, the guidelines recommend that EC be included within the essential medicine supply chain; that special efforts be made to provide comprehensive EC information and…

A Behavior and Attitudes survey carried out on behalf of Bayer Healthcare found that in the last two years, approximately 17% of women had accessed EC, with 5% accessing it more than once. Read more about the survey here.

On March 5, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) is hosting a conference to launch the results of the largest violence against women survey ever undertaken in the EU.  Findings are based on interviews with 42,000 women across the 28 EU Member States and focus on women’s experiences of physical, sexual, and psychological…

A study published in the European Journal of Contraception and Reproductive Health Care in 2013 sought to identify knowledge of and attitudes towards EC among women from five European countries. Sexually-active women from France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom were asked about their use of and opinions on EC in an internet-based survey….

As evidenced by these pictures from Bulgaria, some European countries allow advertising of over-the-counter medical products. This particular ad is for EC and has been placed on the side of a shopping cart.

Following a long debate in Germany over whether LNG EC should have an over the counter status, the German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices recommended recently that emergency contraception pills should be available without a prescription. It is now up to the Minister of Health to decide whether he will adopt the recommendation…

It was recently reported that the Spanish National Health Service (NHS) does not fund EC nor does it reimburse patients who purchase EC. Furthermore, EC availability is dependent on the regions within Spain, and it is not universally available throughout the country. This issue was raised by Grupo Parlamentario de Unión Progreso y Democracia (UPyD),…

In a new study published in The Kennedy Institute of Ethics Journal, Italian researchers explore the empirical and theoretical reasons behind why doctors and pharmacists may refuse to provide women with EC. Although evidence suggests that refusal typically is based on grounds of conscious, the researchers argue that the category of conscientious objection is not…

The French High Authority on Health has issued a new fact sheet regarding the use of EC, based on the latest recommendations. This fact sheet is part of a series of publications on contraception being issued by the Authority. To read the full fact sheet in French, please click here.

The European label for the EC product Norlevo has been updated with two major changes. In keeping with current evidence, the new label now says that LNG EC works by interfering with ovulation, and the language about the possibility that LNG EC might prevent implantation of a fertilized egg has been removed. The second change…

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recommended in draft guidance proposed in 2010 that doctors, nurses, and pharmacies should “ensure all young women are able to obtain free emergency hormonal contraception, including advance provision.”  The recommendation has been on the Health Secretary’s desk since the Spring but he has not yet given…