California Family Health Council, Inc.

Get a Second Chance

Accessing Emergency Contraceptive (EC) Pills, commonly known as the Morning-after pill, has often been a challenge since it was approved by the FDA in 1999 under the brand name Plan B. As both common names would indicate, EC dictates urgent use in order to be effective as a second chance to prevent unplanned pregnancy.

On August 24th 2006, Plan B was approved by the FDA for non-prescription use for women 18 years old and over, but maintained the prescription status for those 17 and younger. The prescription requirement can cause delays to accessing this unique postcoital method of pregnancy prevention the morning-after it’s needed. CFHC understands the challenges created by the current dual prescription labeling of Plan B and hopes it will soon be over-the-counter for women of all ages.

Until then, CFHC continues to host an Emergency Contraception Hotline to help direct callers to the most convenient and affordable clinic or pharmacy to obtain or purchase EC pills. Our person-to-person EC Hotline tailors referral to the needs of the caller based on gender, age, and affordability.

Provider Referral Hotline Increases Access

From 2000 to 2006, the California Family Health Council sponsored a high profile Emergency Contraception campaign with the goal to increase awareness of Emergency Contraception among providers and access to patients as a second chance to prevent unplanned pregnancy. During the 7 years of this campaign over 700 medical providers and 20 hospitals across the State of California were reached with emergency contraception research, policy updates, client education materials, and onsite technical assistance.

Education and promotion materials were developed and produced to help providers inform their patients about this important contraceptive option. Throughout this EC awareness campaign, CFHC was able to establish a directory of providers willing to dispense EC as needed and in advance of need. This directory of providers has become a vital resource for our EC Hotline referral.

California providers receive our EC Hotline materials FREE!