News

October 2019. According to the National Survey on Sexual Health and Contraception among Spanish Youth, promoted by the Spanish Society of Contraception (SEC), 29,7% of young women have ever used emergency contraception (EC) pills. These figures vary when broken down by ages: 14,4% of 16 to 18 years old have ever used EC; 19,9% of…

October 2019. In Spain, LNG EC pills are sold without prescription since 2009, and UPA EC pills since early 2016.  According to the news agency EFE, in this 10-year period, over 7 million units have been sold in the country. According to the General Council of Official Colleges of Pharmacists of Spain, pharmacists have a…

September 2019. In Malta, a women’s on-line discussion forum called for more sensitivity and clear direction for those wanting to buy emergency contraception (EC) pills from pharmacies. A series of articles published in The Times of Malta picked up the story and opened a discussion about the terms in which women obtain EC pills at the pharmacy,…

July 2019. DKT Turkey recently launched an emergency contraception (EC) website to inform and educate about this method. The site http://ertesigunyaninda.org, written entirely in Turkish, uses easy-to-understand language to describe how and when to use three different EC methods (UPA and LNG EC pills, and the Cu-IUD). It also directs visitors to a list of longer-term, more sustainable…

July 2019. Levonorgestel (LNG) and ulipristal acetate (UPA) emergency contraception (EC) pills are registered as prescription-free medical products in most European countries. Does this mean all women in Europe have the same access to EC? Anecdotal data suggests that we don’t: In the United Kingdom, pharmacists’ objection to dispensing EC, based on misinformation, myths or their…

May 2019. The UK’s Faculty of Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare (FSRH) just published Overweight, Obesity and Contraception, a guideline that brings together evidence and expert opinion on the provision of contraception to women who are overweight and women with obesity. Recommendations are based on available evidence and the consensus opinion of experts and the guideline…

April 2019. We recently updated our Publications page to include resources from colleague organizations, focused on reproductive rights and access to contraception in Europe. This valuable references, which may be of use for your work promoting EC access in our region, can be found here: European Parliament Resolution: Experiencing backlash in women’s rights and gender…

February 2019. In December 2018 the Sexual Health and Crisis Pregnancy Programme (SHCPP) of the Irish Health Service (HSE), launched a national campaign in partnership with the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU), with the aim to increase public awareness that EC is available to women directly from a pharmacist up to five days (and not only ” the morning after”)…