Birth Control Methods FAQs

What is the Morning After Pill?

Doctors sometimes prescribe higher doses of combined oral contraceptives for use as "morning after" pills to be taken within 72 hours of unprotected sexual intercourse to prevent the possibly fertilized egg from reaching the uterus. On June 28, 1996, FDA's Advisory Committee for Reproductive Health Drugs concluded that certain oral contraceptives are safe and effective for this use. The "morning after" pill (also referred to as "emergency contraception") has been officially recognized as safe and effective by the Food and Drug Administration as of February 1997 (see Federal Register 62(37):8610-2). For more information, see emergency contraception.

This emergency contraception method is different from another "morning after" pill used widely in Europe - known as RU486 or mifepristone. The FDA approved RU486 for use in the in United States in September 2000. Unlike emergency contraception, which acts before implantation of the fertilized egg, RU486 is an antiprogestin, which causes the uterine lining to shed after implantation. For this reason, RU 486 is sometimes referred to as an "abortion pill," although it can only be used up to six weeks after conception. RU 486 must be given by a physician in three separate doses. 

Contraceptives Resource Center

Women Talk About RU486 - The Abortion Pill

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Adapted from the United States Office on Women's Health